STORMONT 'talking-shop' ; not a new failure -
Belfast May 1998 -- Dublin July 1917........
.......the one-hundred-and-five seat 'Irish Convention' was to be heavily-loaded by the British , in their favour - only five seats were ear-marked for Irish Republicans , with the other one-hundred seats to be shared out between professional or 'wanna-be' 'place-seekers'.......
One of the groups in receipt of British largesse (and hoping for more) which was allocated seats at the 'talking-shop' was the business community ( "the fumblers in the greasy till") who were loyal to the half-crown only and who sat beside another group favoured by the Brits - the Irish Unionists .
John Redmond's Irish Parliamentary Party were grateful for the extra income and had no scruples about whose purse it came from ( sound familiar ? ) . The then Sinn Fein organisation dismissed the notion of a British-imposed so-called 'Irish Convention' as a farce , saying its purpose was " to assure the world that England left the Irish to settle the question of government for themselves and they could not agree , " thus 'explaining' to those asking the question of why they were in Ireland at all .
The 'Convention' , like the 1998 Stormont Treaty , was flawed from the start ....... (MORE LATER).
WHERE MOUNTAINY MEN HAVE SOWN :
war and peace in rebel Cork ,
in the turbulent years 1916-21.
By Micheal O'Suilleabhain : published 1965.
1916 AND AFTER.......
".......in the Spring of 1917 , the story of Joe Roche , a local IRA man , was re-called ......."
" Joe and three others met at the Cross and adjourned to a pub for a while , and came out feeling much better . The martial spirit asserted itself . They even felt numerically stronger . They decided that at least they should drill and march through the town . Joe was appointed instructor .
He drilled and dressed his men , first in single file and line , then two deep . And then to the delight of the boys at the corner , Joe shouted : " Form fours ! It must be done , be dammed , boys , although there are only three of ye there ," he added . Here someone suggested that we go through a little drill , as a token for a new start . Six of us were later drilled by my brother Pat . So the start was made .
After that evening men were coming in one by one , until the Company's strength reached its old level . In a few secluded spots we met and drilled . One fine Sunday evening four of us left my uncle's house and strolled along the road to the village . My uncle , Joe Roche , Tadhg Buckley and myself comprised the party . We met a neighbour , on his way home from the Cross , and sat down on top of Achan Riach while talking to him . He told us the news and casually asked us if we were going to Ballyvourney to the play . We knew nothing about it ......." (MORE LATER).
DEMOCRACY AS DEFINED BY 'DEMOCRATS'.......
[from ' The Sunday Tribune ' Magazine , 17th August , 1997 , page 17]
According to the book ' Crimes and Mercies ' , by James Bacque (published by 'Little Brown') , at least 9.3 million German civilians , P O W's and refugees died mostly of starvation on German soil in the aftermath of the 'Second World War ' , between 1945 and 1950 .
The deaths were caused by a planned , man-made 'famine' to which post-war Germany was subjected by the "victorious Allies" -- Britain , the U S A , France and Russia were responsible for the atrocities , which only became known-about in 1989 , via Soviet archives . The Allies took the above action under their 'Morgenthau Plan ' , which was designed to punish Germany with great severity , to reduce its infrastructure , turn the country into a primitive agrarian state and to weaken forever the ambitions of the German people .
The 'Plan' was responsible for the civilian death rate in Germany jumping up from an average of twelve per thousand to around twenty-nine per thousand , and when Goebbels learned of the 'Morgenthau Plan' and told his troops , it struck such fear into them that they fought more fiercly than they had previously !
A massive food-aid operation , set up by Herbert Hoover , failed to reach Germany when one-thousand boxcars and four-hundred trucks with food reached Germany but was turned back by the Allies and returned to its owners .
As the 19th Century humorist Ambrose Bierce put it - " A Christian is one who thinks the Bible is a divinely inspired book admirably suited to the spiritual needs of his neighbour ."
Quite.
Friday, December 19, 2003
STORMONT 'talking-shop' ; not a new failure -
Belfast May 1998 -- Dublin July 1917........
.......the Brits decided that it was time to appease international opinion regarding their Irish 'colony' -- in July 1917 , they established a 'talking-shop' in Dublin to give the impression of political movement .......
That month (ie July 1917) , the British Parliament at Westminster gave birth to a bastard offspring - 'The Irish Convention .' Financed by the Brits and convened by their Prime Minister , David Lloyd George , who appointed its Chairperson , 'Sir' Horace Plunkett , the 'Convention' (to consist of one-hundred-and-five members) held its first meeting at Trinity College , Dublin .
At the time , the strongest political organisation in Ireland was the then twelve-years young Sinn Fein grouping , which was allocated only five seats at the 'Convention' -- the British themselves held fifteen seats for their own representatives and , in a rare show of "democracy" , decided that local politicians should also be present (ie Town Mayors and Chairpersons of Councils etc - in short , those who had proved that they were prepared to hang their backbone up with their coat each morning in the expectation that the British would slip them in to a permanent , pensionable position in the British Administration in Ireland .).
(MORE LATER).
WHERE MOUNTAINY MEN HAVE SOWN :
war and peace in rebel Cork ,
in the turbulent years 1916-21.
By Micheal O'Suilleabhain : published 1965.
1916 AND AFTER.......
"....... When she was a younger woman , my grandmother was no stranger to having a go at the British forces of occupation ; she once had at them in her family's yard with a cart-shaft ! I was happy to be preset when , as an old woman nearing death , her son Dan was released from jail by the British ......."
" " Oh Dan ," she cried , " I lived to see you home again . Now won't I be happy going to Kilmurray ! " She talked with us , my mother , my uncle and me , for a long time . Then she lay back smiling and said she would rest . We stole away to the kitchen . In the kitchen there was an old clock . Every week , she reminded me to wind it . " Maybe we will have good news before it is wound again , " she would say .
Ellen Cronin , her nurse , returned to the bedroom again . Soon Ellen called softly to us - " She is dying ," she said when I went with her . " She is sleeping , " I said . We knelt down . We could hear nothing but the gentle breathing and the measured tick of the old clock . Presently I noticed the breathing getting slower , but yet it seemed to me to keep harmony with the clock . Slower and slower , then fainter and fainter .....
.....then - it stopped . And with it stopped the old clock . Old Ellen looked at me - " The clock stopped , " she said . " It did, " I answered . We called my mother and my uncle in from the kitchen . They knelt down with us .
The New Year , 1917 , started quietly . A few Volunteers met at my uncle's house at least once a week and discussed the future . Now and again we opened dumps and cleaned and oiled the guns . One evening in the Spring , seven of us were together . We were in a happy mood . Some one told a story of how Joe Roche , my uncle's man , and three other old-timers met at the Cross ......." (MORE LATER).
NOTE TO ' KOSBIES ' COMMENTATOR (see '1169....' Guestbook , comment dated 18th December).......
....... A reader stated that 'WW1' had not begun at the time that I wrote that the 'KOSBIES' had been shipped-out from Ireland to the Western Front , and stated that I was ignoring that fact in order to maintain an " anti-Brit rant " .
In that particular article , on 15th December last , I wrote that those British Army troops " were shipped-out only days after the incident ......."
I also wrote , on 16th December , that " the 'KOSBIES' were quickly shipped-out of Ireland and sent to the Western Front ......." , as the reader correctly pointed out . I should have made myself clearer and mentioned the dates involved (and the reader in question should have checked said dates him/herself before making their comment) ---
--- The 'KOSBIES' shot forty-one members of the public , in Dublin , on 26th July 1914 ;
The then British Prime Minister , H. H. Asquith , announced on 4th August 1914 that Britain had declared war on Germany ;
The 'KOSBIES' were shipped-out from Ireland on that same date (ie 4th August 1914), and sent to the Western Front . There were already twenty-two thousand soldiers from all parts of Ireland serving in the British Army when the war began , attached to regiments such as the Connaught Rangers , the Munster Fusiliers and the Irish Guards . Thousands more Irishmen took John Redmonds advice and joined up as well . ( Redmond's crew were apparently led to believe that they would be kept together , as an 'Irish Brigade' , with their own special badges and emblems etc , but the British War Office would not allow that to happen .)
And , before I am accused of doing so , I am not suggesting that the Brits declared war on Germany because they wanted a reason to withdraw the 'KOSBIES' from Ireland !
Now that would be an " anti-Brit rant " ! Thanks for reading , and for the comment .......
John Horan. (PS - how's that for " a good trick " ?)
Belfast May 1998 -- Dublin July 1917........
.......the Brits decided that it was time to appease international opinion regarding their Irish 'colony' -- in July 1917 , they established a 'talking-shop' in Dublin to give the impression of political movement .......
That month (ie July 1917) , the British Parliament at Westminster gave birth to a bastard offspring - 'The Irish Convention .' Financed by the Brits and convened by their Prime Minister , David Lloyd George , who appointed its Chairperson , 'Sir' Horace Plunkett , the 'Convention' (to consist of one-hundred-and-five members) held its first meeting at Trinity College , Dublin .
At the time , the strongest political organisation in Ireland was the then twelve-years young Sinn Fein grouping , which was allocated only five seats at the 'Convention' -- the British themselves held fifteen seats for their own representatives and , in a rare show of "democracy" , decided that local politicians should also be present (ie Town Mayors and Chairpersons of Councils etc - in short , those who had proved that they were prepared to hang their backbone up with their coat each morning in the expectation that the British would slip them in to a permanent , pensionable position in the British Administration in Ireland .).
(MORE LATER).
WHERE MOUNTAINY MEN HAVE SOWN :
war and peace in rebel Cork ,
in the turbulent years 1916-21.
By Micheal O'Suilleabhain : published 1965.
1916 AND AFTER.......
"....... When she was a younger woman , my grandmother was no stranger to having a go at the British forces of occupation ; she once had at them in her family's yard with a cart-shaft ! I was happy to be preset when , as an old woman nearing death , her son Dan was released from jail by the British ......."
" " Oh Dan ," she cried , " I lived to see you home again . Now won't I be happy going to Kilmurray ! " She talked with us , my mother , my uncle and me , for a long time . Then she lay back smiling and said she would rest . We stole away to the kitchen . In the kitchen there was an old clock . Every week , she reminded me to wind it . " Maybe we will have good news before it is wound again , " she would say .
Ellen Cronin , her nurse , returned to the bedroom again . Soon Ellen called softly to us - " She is dying ," she said when I went with her . " She is sleeping , " I said . We knelt down . We could hear nothing but the gentle breathing and the measured tick of the old clock . Presently I noticed the breathing getting slower , but yet it seemed to me to keep harmony with the clock . Slower and slower , then fainter and fainter .....
.....then - it stopped . And with it stopped the old clock . Old Ellen looked at me - " The clock stopped , " she said . " It did, " I answered . We called my mother and my uncle in from the kitchen . They knelt down with us .
The New Year , 1917 , started quietly . A few Volunteers met at my uncle's house at least once a week and discussed the future . Now and again we opened dumps and cleaned and oiled the guns . One evening in the Spring , seven of us were together . We were in a happy mood . Some one told a story of how Joe Roche , my uncle's man , and three other old-timers met at the Cross ......." (MORE LATER).
NOTE TO ' KOSBIES ' COMMENTATOR (see '1169....' Guestbook , comment dated 18th December).......
....... A reader stated that 'WW1' had not begun at the time that I wrote that the 'KOSBIES' had been shipped-out from Ireland to the Western Front , and stated that I was ignoring that fact in order to maintain an " anti-Brit rant " .
In that particular article , on 15th December last , I wrote that those British Army troops " were shipped-out only days after the incident ......."
I also wrote , on 16th December , that " the 'KOSBIES' were quickly shipped-out of Ireland and sent to the Western Front ......." , as the reader correctly pointed out . I should have made myself clearer and mentioned the dates involved (and the reader in question should have checked said dates him/herself before making their comment) ---
--- The 'KOSBIES' shot forty-one members of the public , in Dublin , on 26th July 1914 ;
The then British Prime Minister , H. H. Asquith , announced on 4th August 1914 that Britain had declared war on Germany ;
The 'KOSBIES' were shipped-out from Ireland on that same date (ie 4th August 1914), and sent to the Western Front . There were already twenty-two thousand soldiers from all parts of Ireland serving in the British Army when the war began , attached to regiments such as the Connaught Rangers , the Munster Fusiliers and the Irish Guards . Thousands more Irishmen took John Redmonds advice and joined up as well . ( Redmond's crew were apparently led to believe that they would be kept together , as an 'Irish Brigade' , with their own special badges and emblems etc , but the British War Office would not allow that to happen .)
And , before I am accused of doing so , I am not suggesting that the Brits declared war on Germany because they wanted a reason to withdraw the 'KOSBIES' from Ireland !
Now that would be an " anti-Brit rant " ! Thanks for reading , and for the comment .......
John Horan. (PS - how's that for " a good trick " ?)
Thursday, December 18, 2003
STORMONT 'talking-shop' ; not a new failure -
Belfast May 1998 -- Dublin July 1917........
.......the Brits were losing the propaganda war in Ireland ; the 1916 Rising had ensured that international attention was still directed on this country , and the pro-Brit Irish Parliamentary Party was losing the last of its credibility .......
The focus now for the British was to get world opinion , if not actually on its side then at least neutralised or dis-interested and , at the same time , shore-up those in the colony that are eager to be placed in the new order (ie in the early 20th Century , the most prominent 'place-seekers' would have been the 'Irish Parliamentary Party' ; today , in the early 21st Century , it is Provisional Sinn Fein ).
From the British point of view , a ' Parliament ' (of sorts) was the ideal solution (sound familiar ?) --- if established 'correctly' and guided by a hidden-hand , it could boost the profile of the 'place-seekers' and , at the same time , give the impression to on-lookers that the British were indeed just an "honest broker" , trying to bring peace to the unruly natives . And so an earlier version of the present-day Stormont Parliament was born ....... (MORE LATER).
WHERE MOUNTAINY MEN HAVE SOWN :
war and peace in rebel Cork ,
in the turbulent years 1916-21.
By Micheal O'Suilleabhain : published 1965.
1916 AND AFTER.......
".......my uncle's mother , my grandmother , was very old and near death . She was adamant that she should live long enough to see her son , Dan , come home to her from the British prison he was in ......."
"....... " When he comes home , " she used to say , " then ye can carry me to Kilmurray ." I had stayed with her while Dan was away , and the house was often raided and searched by the British military and police . Very early in the morning they invariably came . From her bed in a room below she would call upstairs to me :
-- : " Mick , you must come down to admit the ragged regiment !" This was a term of contempt for the forces of the crown in the Land War . She had seen 'famine' , Fenians , evictions and emigration , and many were the stories I heard from her of the " bad times . " My mother told me how , once , in a fight with the British police and bailiffs for possession of cattle in the yard of her home , my grandmother , then a young woman , took a decisive part .
The men of the family were being forced backwards . She rushed into the yard and , seizing an old cart by the two shafts , she pressed them apart . One gave way before the strength of her fury . Grasping it with both hands , she rushed on the enemy . Her example carried the day . I was present to witness her triumph at Dan's homecoming ......." (MORE LATER).
NOT ON .......
[from ' The Irish News ' newspaper , 3rd February , 1997]
....... " We know there are two roads before us . One is the road to further conflict and the other is the road to the negotiating table . We have declared ourselves and now re-declare ourselves in favour of travelling to the negotiating table . There is nowhere else for us to go . "
--- so said Martin McGuinness , Provisional Sinn Fein , ex-British Minister for Agriculture and Education in the ex-Stormont 'Parliament' .
Tell ya where else you can go , Marty - to your British-funded holiday home in Donegal ; we'll send ya a postcard now and then - let you know how the struggle is going.......
.......THE ONE ROAD ---->
[from ' SAOIRSE ' , Irish Republican newspaper , March , 1997 , page 15]
<---- Prior to his execution on 7th May , 1916 , Eamon Ceannt , one of the leaders of the 1916 Rising , stated ---
" I leave for the guidance of other Revolutionaries who may tread the path which I have trod . Never treat with the enemy - never surrender to his mercy ; fight to the finish . Nothing can be gained by any other means . "
Martin , Gerry and company - hang your heads in shame.......
Belfast May 1998 -- Dublin July 1917........
.......the Brits were losing the propaganda war in Ireland ; the 1916 Rising had ensured that international attention was still directed on this country , and the pro-Brit Irish Parliamentary Party was losing the last of its credibility .......
The focus now for the British was to get world opinion , if not actually on its side then at least neutralised or dis-interested and , at the same time , shore-up those in the colony that are eager to be placed in the new order (ie in the early 20th Century , the most prominent 'place-seekers' would have been the 'Irish Parliamentary Party' ; today , in the early 21st Century , it is Provisional Sinn Fein ).
From the British point of view , a ' Parliament ' (of sorts) was the ideal solution (sound familiar ?) --- if established 'correctly' and guided by a hidden-hand , it could boost the profile of the 'place-seekers' and , at the same time , give the impression to on-lookers that the British were indeed just an "honest broker" , trying to bring peace to the unruly natives . And so an earlier version of the present-day Stormont Parliament was born ....... (MORE LATER).
WHERE MOUNTAINY MEN HAVE SOWN :
war and peace in rebel Cork ,
in the turbulent years 1916-21.
By Micheal O'Suilleabhain : published 1965.
1916 AND AFTER.......
".......my uncle's mother , my grandmother , was very old and near death . She was adamant that she should live long enough to see her son , Dan , come home to her from the British prison he was in ......."
"....... " When he comes home , " she used to say , " then ye can carry me to Kilmurray ." I had stayed with her while Dan was away , and the house was often raided and searched by the British military and police . Very early in the morning they invariably came . From her bed in a room below she would call upstairs to me :
-- : " Mick , you must come down to admit the ragged regiment !" This was a term of contempt for the forces of the crown in the Land War . She had seen 'famine' , Fenians , evictions and emigration , and many were the stories I heard from her of the " bad times . " My mother told me how , once , in a fight with the British police and bailiffs for possession of cattle in the yard of her home , my grandmother , then a young woman , took a decisive part .
The men of the family were being forced backwards . She rushed into the yard and , seizing an old cart by the two shafts , she pressed them apart . One gave way before the strength of her fury . Grasping it with both hands , she rushed on the enemy . Her example carried the day . I was present to witness her triumph at Dan's homecoming ......." (MORE LATER).
NOT ON .......
[from ' The Irish News ' newspaper , 3rd February , 1997]
....... " We know there are two roads before us . One is the road to further conflict and the other is the road to the negotiating table . We have declared ourselves and now re-declare ourselves in favour of travelling to the negotiating table . There is nowhere else for us to go . "
--- so said Martin McGuinness , Provisional Sinn Fein , ex-British Minister for Agriculture and Education in the ex-Stormont 'Parliament' .
Tell ya where else you can go , Marty - to your British-funded holiday home in Donegal ; we'll send ya a postcard now and then - let you know how the struggle is going.......
.......THE ONE ROAD ---->
[from ' SAOIRSE ' , Irish Republican newspaper , March , 1997 , page 15]
<---- Prior to his execution on 7th May , 1916 , Eamon Ceannt , one of the leaders of the 1916 Rising , stated ---
" I leave for the guidance of other Revolutionaries who may tread the path which I have trod . Never treat with the enemy - never surrender to his mercy ; fight to the finish . Nothing can be gained by any other means . "
Martin , Gerry and company - hang your heads in shame.......
Wednesday, December 17, 2003
STORMONT 'talking-shop' ; not a new failure -
Belfast May 1998 -- Dublin July 1917.
To paraphrase - ' Buy one half of your opposition and use them , and your own forces , to intimidate the remainder .'
Cruel , heartless , immoral and devious they are , without question , but not stupid - the British have centuries of experience to draw from in their colonial wars and conquests .
In 1917 , as had happened before and would happen again , the British felt they were losing the propaganda war in regards to Ireland ; one of their support networks in this country , John Redmond's ' Irish Parliamentary Party ' was rapidly losing credibility (the 1916 Rising had embarrassed them) and public opinion in America (and elsewhere) was turning against Westminster .
The Brits had been down this road before , and realised that they had to be at least seen to be doing something about what they referred to as " the Irish problem " ; time for ' a new coat of varnish ....... ' (MORE LATER).
WHERE MOUNTAINY MEN HAVE SOWN :
war and peace in rebel Cork ,
in the turbulent years 1916-21.
By Micheal O'Suilleabhain : published 1965.
1916 AND AFTER .......
".......my brother quickly organised twelve armed IRA Volunteers and set-out to free my uncle from his RIC prison-cell ; but the British police had borrowed a car from a local (Catholic) hotel owner and transported their two Republican prisoners to Cork city ....... "
" We were , with the Macroom Volunteers , numerically superior to the RIC in the barracks there . Any attempt to remove the prisoners would have been doomed to failure had we arrived in time . Indeed , the attempt would have been very welcome to us as it would mean their leaving the shelter of their barracks to face the shotguns in a narrow street .
After the removal of the prisoners it would appear that a few shoneen young men of the town repaired to the barracks and offered their services to defend the building against the Volunteers . We were later to meet and suitably reward them for their generous impulse .
My uncle saw the inside of many British gaols and finally the camps of Frongoch . Christmas was over when he reached home again . His mother , my grandmother , was there to welcome him . She had been living at home with us , but when she heard of her son's arrest she insisted on going back to the old home and remaining there until he returned . She was very old and her time had come to die , but she insisted that she would live until Dan came home ......."
DEMOCRACY MY ARSE .......
[from ' Hot Press ' magazine , 20th October , 1988 , page 46]
When he was the President of South Africa , P W Botha delivered a speech to a Provincial Congress of the so-called National Party on 15th August , 1985 , during which he stated that the principal " of one man (sic) one vote would lead to the domination of one racial group over the others and it would lead to chaos . " !!
So the obvious answer was - Apartheid ! And no way did that lead to " the (enforced) domination of one racial group over the others " resulting in " chaos . "
And LOOK ---> there goes another flying pig , on its way to HELL , which recently FROZE over .......
Belfast May 1998 -- Dublin July 1917.
To paraphrase - ' Buy one half of your opposition and use them , and your own forces , to intimidate the remainder .'
Cruel , heartless , immoral and devious they are , without question , but not stupid - the British have centuries of experience to draw from in their colonial wars and conquests .
In 1917 , as had happened before and would happen again , the British felt they were losing the propaganda war in regards to Ireland ; one of their support networks in this country , John Redmond's ' Irish Parliamentary Party ' was rapidly losing credibility (the 1916 Rising had embarrassed them) and public opinion in America (and elsewhere) was turning against Westminster .
The Brits had been down this road before , and realised that they had to be at least seen to be doing something about what they referred to as " the Irish problem " ; time for ' a new coat of varnish ....... ' (MORE LATER).
WHERE MOUNTAINY MEN HAVE SOWN :
war and peace in rebel Cork ,
in the turbulent years 1916-21.
By Micheal O'Suilleabhain : published 1965.
1916 AND AFTER .......
".......my brother quickly organised twelve armed IRA Volunteers and set-out to free my uncle from his RIC prison-cell ; but the British police had borrowed a car from a local (Catholic) hotel owner and transported their two Republican prisoners to Cork city ....... "
" We were , with the Macroom Volunteers , numerically superior to the RIC in the barracks there . Any attempt to remove the prisoners would have been doomed to failure had we arrived in time . Indeed , the attempt would have been very welcome to us as it would mean their leaving the shelter of their barracks to face the shotguns in a narrow street .
After the removal of the prisoners it would appear that a few shoneen young men of the town repaired to the barracks and offered their services to defend the building against the Volunteers . We were later to meet and suitably reward them for their generous impulse .
My uncle saw the inside of many British gaols and finally the camps of Frongoch . Christmas was over when he reached home again . His mother , my grandmother , was there to welcome him . She had been living at home with us , but when she heard of her son's arrest she insisted on going back to the old home and remaining there until he returned . She was very old and her time had come to die , but she insisted that she would live until Dan came home ......."
DEMOCRACY MY ARSE .......
[from ' Hot Press ' magazine , 20th October , 1988 , page 46]
When he was the President of South Africa , P W Botha delivered a speech to a Provincial Congress of the so-called National Party on 15th August , 1985 , during which he stated that the principal " of one man (sic) one vote would lead to the domination of one racial group over the others and it would lead to chaos . " !!
So the obvious answer was - Apartheid ! And no way did that lead to " the (enforced) domination of one racial group over the others " resulting in " chaos . "
And LOOK ---> there goes another flying pig , on its way to HELL , which recently FROZE over .......
Tuesday, December 16, 2003
SUNDAY , 26TH JULY , 1914 - ON THE DUBLIN QUAYS ; BRITISH SOLDIERS OPEN FIRE .......
.......the British gunmen , the 'KOSBIES' , were quickly shipped out of Ireland and sent to the Western Front ; the unarmed citizens they massacred on Sunday , 26th July were buried on the 29th July . Thousands of people attended the funerals.......
Dublin city came to a standstill as thousands upon thousands of people filled the footpaths along the funeral route , from the Pro-Cathedral to Glasnevin Cemetery . An armed Company of Irish Volunteers , with weapons reversed , led the mourners to the gravesides .
While the British Administration claim jurisdiction over any part of Ireland , and maintain and enforce that jurisdictional claim with an armed presence , the incident outlined above can happen again . That British claim must be dropped and the armed thugs enforcing same must be re-called to their own country . Any other 'solution' only postpones peace.......
[END].
WHERE MOUNTAINY MEN HAVE SOWN :
war and peace in rebel Cork ,
in the turbulent years 1916-21.
By Micheal O'Suilleabhain : published 1965.
".......on his way to a funeral in Ballyvourney , my uncle and a comrade , both unarmed , were arrested by the RIC . I was sent , by my brother , to my uncle's house at Knocksaharing while the Volunteers got organised ......."
" When I reached the house , I found the key where my uncle always hid it . Then I found that the lock had been broken and when I went in I knew that the place had been raided by the police . Joe Roche , a Volunteer who worked for my uncle now arrived . Joe explained to me how , before going to the funeral , they had removed all the guns from the house and dumped them temporarily . That was very satisfactory . We hurried back to the village .
Twelve men were now assembled under arms . My brother led us down the road towards Macroom . He had sent a Volunteer on a bicycle ahead to request the Macroom Company to hold the railway station . This they did . The police , aware of the move and having no car of their own available , asked a Protestant hotel keeper for a car to drive the prisoners to Cork . He refused . They next asked the Catholic hotel keeper - he drove the car himself . Thus it happened that halfway to Macroom a Volunteer cyclist met us with the news that my uncle and his comrade had already been taken away to Cork.
Another disappointment . Had the miserable hotel keeper refused the use of his car as the other decent man had done , and delayed the matter for half an hour , things would have been different . " (MORE LATER).
Free State Detectives always get their man .......
[from ' The Evening Press ' newspaper , 10th October - a Monday , if memory serves - 1983]
A man handed over two firearms to the ' Irish Press ' newspaper Office last night (ie Sunday , 9th October , 1983) ; a double-barrell shotgun (number JU 35590) and a Browning handgun (number filed off) .
The man said the gun's were given to him by two detectives , who wanted him to "plant" them in a car belonging to a criminal they named . The detectives offered him £3000 (Euro 3809) and a guarantee that the on-going harassment against him , his wife , children and mother-in-law would stop .
The two cops said they could organise a key for the car in question , if he had any difficulty . The man took the guns , intending to do the job , but then changed his mind .
How many others went ahead with the job ? If 'ordinary' detectives will do that to what they describe as an 'ODC' , how far has the political police in this State gone to 'nail' a "subversive" .......?
.......the British gunmen , the 'KOSBIES' , were quickly shipped out of Ireland and sent to the Western Front ; the unarmed citizens they massacred on Sunday , 26th July were buried on the 29th July . Thousands of people attended the funerals.......
Dublin city came to a standstill as thousands upon thousands of people filled the footpaths along the funeral route , from the Pro-Cathedral to Glasnevin Cemetery . An armed Company of Irish Volunteers , with weapons reversed , led the mourners to the gravesides .
While the British Administration claim jurisdiction over any part of Ireland , and maintain and enforce that jurisdictional claim with an armed presence , the incident outlined above can happen again . That British claim must be dropped and the armed thugs enforcing same must be re-called to their own country . Any other 'solution' only postpones peace.......
[END].
WHERE MOUNTAINY MEN HAVE SOWN :
war and peace in rebel Cork ,
in the turbulent years 1916-21.
By Micheal O'Suilleabhain : published 1965.
".......on his way to a funeral in Ballyvourney , my uncle and a comrade , both unarmed , were arrested by the RIC . I was sent , by my brother , to my uncle's house at Knocksaharing while the Volunteers got organised ......."
" When I reached the house , I found the key where my uncle always hid it . Then I found that the lock had been broken and when I went in I knew that the place had been raided by the police . Joe Roche , a Volunteer who worked for my uncle now arrived . Joe explained to me how , before going to the funeral , they had removed all the guns from the house and dumped them temporarily . That was very satisfactory . We hurried back to the village .
Twelve men were now assembled under arms . My brother led us down the road towards Macroom . He had sent a Volunteer on a bicycle ahead to request the Macroom Company to hold the railway station . This they did . The police , aware of the move and having no car of their own available , asked a Protestant hotel keeper for a car to drive the prisoners to Cork . He refused . They next asked the Catholic hotel keeper - he drove the car himself . Thus it happened that halfway to Macroom a Volunteer cyclist met us with the news that my uncle and his comrade had already been taken away to Cork.
Another disappointment . Had the miserable hotel keeper refused the use of his car as the other decent man had done , and delayed the matter for half an hour , things would have been different . " (MORE LATER).
Free State Detectives always get their man .......
[from ' The Evening Press ' newspaper , 10th October - a Monday , if memory serves - 1983]
A man handed over two firearms to the ' Irish Press ' newspaper Office last night (ie Sunday , 9th October , 1983) ; a double-barrell shotgun (number JU 35590) and a Browning handgun (number filed off) .
The man said the gun's were given to him by two detectives , who wanted him to "plant" them in a car belonging to a criminal they named . The detectives offered him £3000 (Euro 3809) and a guarantee that the on-going harassment against him , his wife , children and mother-in-law would stop .
The two cops said they could organise a key for the car in question , if he had any difficulty . The man took the guns , intending to do the job , but then changed his mind .
How many others went ahead with the job ? If 'ordinary' detectives will do that to what they describe as an 'ODC' , how far has the political police in this State gone to 'nail' a "subversive" .......?
Monday, December 15, 2003
SUNDAY , 26TH JULY , 1914 - ON THE DUBLIN QUAYS ; BRITISH SOLDIERS OPEN FIRE .......
......the British troops , usually either feared or ignored by the Irish , had reached breaking-point and opened fire on the public . Forty-one people were hit , four of whom died : there was uproar , so the Brits set-up a 'Commission of Inquiry' into the shootings.......
As expected , the ' Commission of Inquiry ' was nothing of the sort . In August that year (1914) the Brits announced the findings of same -- it amounted to a mere ' slap-on-the-wrist ' for those who pulled the triggers . The 'Commission' simply stated that the actions of their gunmen on that day , Sunday , 26th July , 1914 , was " questionable and tainted with illegality " and scolded their soldiers for " a lack of control and discipline " !
The British Army soldiers responsible for the massacre , the 'Kings Own Scottish Borderers' (the 'KOSBIES') , within hours following the shootings , found themselves even more reviled by the Irish than they had been - their very presence on the street now guaranteed trouble .
They were shipped out only days after the incident , to the Western Front . The Irish , meanwhile , had buried their dead : on 29th July , 1914 , literally thousands of Irish people followed the coffins of those shot dead three days earlier ....... (MORE LATER).
WHERE MOUNTAINY MEN HAVE SOWN :
war and peace in rebel Cork ,
in the turbulent years 1916-21.
By Micheal O'Suilleabhain : published 1965.
1916 AND AFTER.......
"....... Sunday , 23rd April 1916 ; at Carriganimma we heard about the arms-ship ' THE AUD '......."
" We heard of her long period of waiting for men who did not come to take the arms from her . We heard of the capture of 'THE AUD' , the landing and capture of Roger Casement , and the accidental drowning of the three Volunteers at Ballykissane Pier .
We returned home in bad spirits , my uncle especially so . We pitied him , since he had waited a long time for that day . The following day we heard nothing . Next we heard newspaper accounts of the Rising , but nothing through Volunteer channels . My uncle still kept vigil with his small garrison . On Thursday he went to a funeral at Ballyvourney , four miles distant . He was not armed .
A party of RIC arrested him and a Volunteer who accompanied him . Both were taken handcuffed in a motor-car to Macroom . We heard the news at home . My brother ordered me off to my uncle's house at Knocksaharing , and rushed out to mobilise some men of the Company ......." (MORE LATER).
7 of 9 - A FLYER , BUT NOT REAL ;
4 of 25 - REAL , BUT NOT A FLYER.......
[from ' THE EVENING PRESS ' newspaper , 16th September , 1988 - a Friday , I believe - page 5]
According to a book entitled ' Landslide : The Unmaking of The President 1984 - 1988 ' , by Jane Mayer and Doyle McManus (Washington journalists) , Ronald Reagan " was lazy . He was'nt interested in the job . All he wanted to do was watch movies and television . "
U S Chief of Staff Howard Baker (who replaced Donald Regan) briefly considered a proposal that the U S Constitution's 25th Amendment be invoked to remove Ronald Reagan from Office .
Baker's aid , James Cannon , sent Baker a memorandum on 1st March 1987 stating - " Consider the possibility that Section 4 of the 25th Amendment to the Constitution might be applied . "
The '25th' provides that a U S President can be removed from Office if the Vice-President and a majority of the Cabinet certify he is unable to perform his duties ! When questioned about Cannon's memo , Ronald Reagan replied - " No truth at all ."
Or , then again , maybe Nancy kept the truth of it from her husband . Or perhaps the pair of them were'nt worried about how it would all pan out as they had read it beforehand in the stars . Or was it the tealeaves ?
......the British troops , usually either feared or ignored by the Irish , had reached breaking-point and opened fire on the public . Forty-one people were hit , four of whom died : there was uproar , so the Brits set-up a 'Commission of Inquiry' into the shootings.......
As expected , the ' Commission of Inquiry ' was nothing of the sort . In August that year (1914) the Brits announced the findings of same -- it amounted to a mere ' slap-on-the-wrist ' for those who pulled the triggers . The 'Commission' simply stated that the actions of their gunmen on that day , Sunday , 26th July , 1914 , was " questionable and tainted with illegality " and scolded their soldiers for " a lack of control and discipline " !
The British Army soldiers responsible for the massacre , the 'Kings Own Scottish Borderers' (the 'KOSBIES') , within hours following the shootings , found themselves even more reviled by the Irish than they had been - their very presence on the street now guaranteed trouble .
They were shipped out only days after the incident , to the Western Front . The Irish , meanwhile , had buried their dead : on 29th July , 1914 , literally thousands of Irish people followed the coffins of those shot dead three days earlier ....... (MORE LATER).
WHERE MOUNTAINY MEN HAVE SOWN :
war and peace in rebel Cork ,
in the turbulent years 1916-21.
By Micheal O'Suilleabhain : published 1965.
1916 AND AFTER.......
"....... Sunday , 23rd April 1916 ; at Carriganimma we heard about the arms-ship ' THE AUD '......."
" We heard of her long period of waiting for men who did not come to take the arms from her . We heard of the capture of 'THE AUD' , the landing and capture of Roger Casement , and the accidental drowning of the three Volunteers at Ballykissane Pier .
We returned home in bad spirits , my uncle especially so . We pitied him , since he had waited a long time for that day . The following day we heard nothing . Next we heard newspaper accounts of the Rising , but nothing through Volunteer channels . My uncle still kept vigil with his small garrison . On Thursday he went to a funeral at Ballyvourney , four miles distant . He was not armed .
A party of RIC arrested him and a Volunteer who accompanied him . Both were taken handcuffed in a motor-car to Macroom . We heard the news at home . My brother ordered me off to my uncle's house at Knocksaharing , and rushed out to mobilise some men of the Company ......." (MORE LATER).
7 of 9 - A FLYER , BUT NOT REAL ;
4 of 25 - REAL , BUT NOT A FLYER.......
[from ' THE EVENING PRESS ' newspaper , 16th September , 1988 - a Friday , I believe - page 5]
According to a book entitled ' Landslide : The Unmaking of The President 1984 - 1988 ' , by Jane Mayer and Doyle McManus (Washington journalists) , Ronald Reagan " was lazy . He was'nt interested in the job . All he wanted to do was watch movies and television . "
U S Chief of Staff Howard Baker (who replaced Donald Regan) briefly considered a proposal that the U S Constitution's 25th Amendment be invoked to remove Ronald Reagan from Office .
Baker's aid , James Cannon , sent Baker a memorandum on 1st March 1987 stating - " Consider the possibility that Section 4 of the 25th Amendment to the Constitution might be applied . "
The '25th' provides that a U S President can be removed from Office if the Vice-President and a majority of the Cabinet certify he is unable to perform his duties ! When questioned about Cannon's memo , Ronald Reagan replied - " No truth at all ."
Or , then again , maybe Nancy kept the truth of it from her husband . Or perhaps the pair of them were'nt worried about how it would all pan out as they had read it beforehand in the stars . Or was it the tealeaves ?
Sunday, December 14, 2003
SUNDAY , 26TH JULY , 1914 - ON THE DUBLIN QUAYS ; BRITISH SOLDIERS OPEN FIRE .......
.......word travelled quickly that the Brits had been out-foxed ; the British military contingent were making their way back into Dublin city centre accompanied by dozens of on-lookers , all laughing at their mis-fortune , and the footpaths were lined with Irish families , slagging the Brits .......
The Brits were by now near breaking-point ; they were more accustomed to being feared or, at best , ignored , by the public , and were seething with rage now that they were being laughed at by them . An Officer in charge felt the same .......
This British Army Officer ordered one line of his men (approximately twenty soldiers) to halt and turn to face the jeering crowd ; when the soldiers had done as commanded , he instructed them to " ready weapons " and fire on the crowd , if he so ordered . It is not clear whether the order to " fire " was given or not but , regardless , the Brits did open fire - the people on the footpaths - men , women and children - were easy targets .
Forty-one people were hit : a man in his mid-forties died on the spot , as did a woman in her early fifties , and a teenage boy . Of the other thirty-eight people , one died later . Such was the outcry from Ireland and abroad , the British Government decided to hold a so-called ' Commission of Inquiry ' into the shooting -- in August that year (1914) the Brits announced their conclusion ....... (MORE LATER).
WHERE MOUNTAINY MEN HAVE SOWN :
war and peace in rebel Cork ,
in the turbulent years 1916-21.
By Micheal O'Suilleabhain : published 1965.
1916 AND AFTER
" A few weeks before the 1916 Rising , my uncle , taking with him five Volunteers , raided the houses of everyone known to possess firearms in the district . He collected a large number of shotguns . He then proceeded to put his own house into a state of defence . It was a farmhouse where he lived alone and a mile distant from the village .
I visited him daily . Four or five armed Volunteers were with him night and day . Evidently he was waiting for something to happen . The windows were barricaded and shotguns lay on the tables , all loaded . Sunday , 23rd April came . After first Mass , the IRA Company , each man armed with either a shotgun or a pike and carrying a full day's rations , left the village .
We went the nearest way to Millstreet . At Carriganimma we halted . There came the news of the disaster in Kerry and of the coming from Germany of the 'AUD' . We heard of how the arms ship , having successfully evaded the British blockade , reached Tralee bay ......." (MORE LATER).
FAIRYTALES FROM THE LAND WHERE THE SUN NEVER SETS .......
[from ' The Evening Press ' newspaper , 4th October , 1988 - a Tuesday , if memory serves - page 8]
Barbara Cartland , the novelist and step-grandmother of the late British Princess Diana began a campaign to stop black families from living near her country mansion !
In an interview at her Herefordshire Estate luxury pile , she stated -- " You don't want blacks all over the place . This is part of the heritage of England , don't you see ? It makes me very angry . "
Ah now stall the ball there a mo , Babs ; sure is'nt it part of your " British heritage " to invade other countries , steal their goodies , enslave the men and rape the women ?
And then tell the poor unfortunates that they are now part of " The British Empire ?
Sure ya can hardly blame them (black , white , yellow or whatever colour they are ) for wanting to live on what you people refer to as "the Mainland" , now can ya ?
Bejasus , Babs , ye could nearly write a book 'bout it .......
.......word travelled quickly that the Brits had been out-foxed ; the British military contingent were making their way back into Dublin city centre accompanied by dozens of on-lookers , all laughing at their mis-fortune , and the footpaths were lined with Irish families , slagging the Brits .......
The Brits were by now near breaking-point ; they were more accustomed to being feared or, at best , ignored , by the public , and were seething with rage now that they were being laughed at by them . An Officer in charge felt the same .......
This British Army Officer ordered one line of his men (approximately twenty soldiers) to halt and turn to face the jeering crowd ; when the soldiers had done as commanded , he instructed them to " ready weapons " and fire on the crowd , if he so ordered . It is not clear whether the order to " fire " was given or not but , regardless , the Brits did open fire - the people on the footpaths - men , women and children - were easy targets .
Forty-one people were hit : a man in his mid-forties died on the spot , as did a woman in her early fifties , and a teenage boy . Of the other thirty-eight people , one died later . Such was the outcry from Ireland and abroad , the British Government decided to hold a so-called ' Commission of Inquiry ' into the shooting -- in August that year (1914) the Brits announced their conclusion ....... (MORE LATER).
WHERE MOUNTAINY MEN HAVE SOWN :
war and peace in rebel Cork ,
in the turbulent years 1916-21.
By Micheal O'Suilleabhain : published 1965.
1916 AND AFTER
" A few weeks before the 1916 Rising , my uncle , taking with him five Volunteers , raided the houses of everyone known to possess firearms in the district . He collected a large number of shotguns . He then proceeded to put his own house into a state of defence . It was a farmhouse where he lived alone and a mile distant from the village .
I visited him daily . Four or five armed Volunteers were with him night and day . Evidently he was waiting for something to happen . The windows were barricaded and shotguns lay on the tables , all loaded . Sunday , 23rd April came . After first Mass , the IRA Company , each man armed with either a shotgun or a pike and carrying a full day's rations , left the village .
We went the nearest way to Millstreet . At Carriganimma we halted . There came the news of the disaster in Kerry and of the coming from Germany of the 'AUD' . We heard of how the arms ship , having successfully evaded the British blockade , reached Tralee bay ......." (MORE LATER).
FAIRYTALES FROM THE LAND WHERE THE SUN NEVER SETS .......
[from ' The Evening Press ' newspaper , 4th October , 1988 - a Tuesday , if memory serves - page 8]
Barbara Cartland , the novelist and step-grandmother of the late British Princess Diana began a campaign to stop black families from living near her country mansion !
In an interview at her Herefordshire Estate luxury pile , she stated -- " You don't want blacks all over the place . This is part of the heritage of England , don't you see ? It makes me very angry . "
Ah now stall the ball there a mo , Babs ; sure is'nt it part of your " British heritage " to invade other countries , steal their goodies , enslave the men and rape the women ?
And then tell the poor unfortunates that they are now part of " The British Empire ?
Sure ya can hardly blame them (black , white , yellow or whatever colour they are ) for wanting to live on what you people refer to as "the Mainland" , now can ya ?
Bejasus , Babs , ye could nearly write a book 'bout it .......
Saturday, December 13, 2003
SUNDAY , 26TH JULY , 1914 - ON THE DUBLIN QUAYS ; BRITISH SOLDIERS OPEN FIRE .......
.......unable to verbally get the better of the Irish Rebel leaders Thomas MacDonagh and Darrell Figgis , RIC Chief William Harrell ended the discussion and instructed his men to move-in and seize the weapons ; by now there were only 19 of the 1000 rifles left to be seized ! The Brits were sickened , but the crowd that had gathered to watch the scene were delighted , and laughed and cheered .......
Word of the incident had spread at this stage and a large number of the public decided to walk alongside the British forces , laughing and jeering at them . When the procession was about three miles from Dublin city centre , they were joined by about fifty more members of the ' Kings own Scottish Borderers ' ('KOSBIES') who fell in behind their colleagues .
Likewise , dozens of men , women and children - out for a Sunday walk - had heard about the " disappearing rifles " and joined with their neighbours in walking beside the Brits , poking fun at them . It being a Sunday afternoon , families were out in force in the city and were lined-up along the Quays , having heard that the British military detachment was headed that way : people spilled-out from the old tram terminus on Bachelors Walk to join in the slagging ....... (MORE LATER).
WHERE MOUNTAINY MEN HAVE SOWN :
war and peace in rebel Cork ,
in the turbulent years 1916-21.
By Micheal O'Suilleabhain : published 1965.
THE START.......
" ....... John Redmonds recruiting crew had got one possible new member - a local musician named Paddy ; they took him on a pub-crawl and were about to place him into one of their cars . I went over and pulled him back by his arm ....... "
" The recruiting Sergeant looked at me and my comrades and said - " He is our recruit . Do ye know what ye're doing ? " I answered for my comrades -- " Just now you had one recruit . Now you have no recruit . If you go further into the matter with us you will find that you may be minus more than recruits . "
The Sergeant leaned over one of the cars . A whispered consultation and we were left the victors , with a new recruit who later proved himself a good soldier of the IRA . As Redmonds crew drove off , we could not forbear a derisive cheer . The local ( IRA ) company soon reached a strength of thirty men . They drilled regularly and exercised by night and day . Arms were sadly lacking - the shotgun loaded with buckshot was the only firearm .
Across a road or street it was effective enough , elsewhere it was not . Even the shotguns were scarce . To make good the deficiency , about twenty pikes were forged . Beautifully fashioned they were , by local tradesmen . Of little practical value , yet they showed the spirit of the men who bore them , and demonstrated the desire to be free . "
[END of 'THE START' : next - ' 1916 AND AFTER ' ].
NUTTY.......
[from ' The Sunday Press ' newspaper , 10th December , 1984]
....... Mr. George Marshall , Regional Director of BBC NORTHERN IRELAND (sic) in 1937 , said --
-- " There is no such thing today as an Irishman . One is either a citizen of the Irish Free State or a citizen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland . Irishmen as such cease to exist after the partition . "
By George , George ! What a wheeze of an idea - if you can't physically annihilate us , just will us out of existence ! Thats the mentality on which the sun never sets , eh , Mr. Marshall ....... ?
.......PROFESSOR ---->
[from ' The Evening Press ' newspaper , 12th February , 1987 - a Thursday , if memory serves - page 9]
<---- Writing in the (then) current issue of ' The Church of Ireland Gazette ' , Professor John A. Murphy of University College Cork stated that " peace - not unity " should be what he termed " the national goal . Unification is the enemy of peace ."
The nutty Professor stated that " A proper functioning Anglo-Irish Agreement (by which he meant the 1985 Hillsborough Treaty) should be proclaimed as the final settlement of the national question . "
Those opposed to the Hillsborough Treaty were " fanatics , demagogues and intimidators . "
1985 - Hillsborough Treaty - those opposed are " fanatics " ;
1998 - Stormont Treaty - those opposed are " dissidents " .
Professor John A. Murphy - whatever the year -- a Free Stater .......
.......unable to verbally get the better of the Irish Rebel leaders Thomas MacDonagh and Darrell Figgis , RIC Chief William Harrell ended the discussion and instructed his men to move-in and seize the weapons ; by now there were only 19 of the 1000 rifles left to be seized ! The Brits were sickened , but the crowd that had gathered to watch the scene were delighted , and laughed and cheered .......
Word of the incident had spread at this stage and a large number of the public decided to walk alongside the British forces , laughing and jeering at them . When the procession was about three miles from Dublin city centre , they were joined by about fifty more members of the ' Kings own Scottish Borderers ' ('KOSBIES') who fell in behind their colleagues .
Likewise , dozens of men , women and children - out for a Sunday walk - had heard about the " disappearing rifles " and joined with their neighbours in walking beside the Brits , poking fun at them . It being a Sunday afternoon , families were out in force in the city and were lined-up along the Quays , having heard that the British military detachment was headed that way : people spilled-out from the old tram terminus on Bachelors Walk to join in the slagging ....... (MORE LATER).
WHERE MOUNTAINY MEN HAVE SOWN :
war and peace in rebel Cork ,
in the turbulent years 1916-21.
By Micheal O'Suilleabhain : published 1965.
THE START.......
" ....... John Redmonds recruiting crew had got one possible new member - a local musician named Paddy ; they took him on a pub-crawl and were about to place him into one of their cars . I went over and pulled him back by his arm ....... "
" The recruiting Sergeant looked at me and my comrades and said - " He is our recruit . Do ye know what ye're doing ? " I answered for my comrades -- " Just now you had one recruit . Now you have no recruit . If you go further into the matter with us you will find that you may be minus more than recruits . "
The Sergeant leaned over one of the cars . A whispered consultation and we were left the victors , with a new recruit who later proved himself a good soldier of the IRA . As Redmonds crew drove off , we could not forbear a derisive cheer . The local ( IRA ) company soon reached a strength of thirty men . They drilled regularly and exercised by night and day . Arms were sadly lacking - the shotgun loaded with buckshot was the only firearm .
Across a road or street it was effective enough , elsewhere it was not . Even the shotguns were scarce . To make good the deficiency , about twenty pikes were forged . Beautifully fashioned they were , by local tradesmen . Of little practical value , yet they showed the spirit of the men who bore them , and demonstrated the desire to be free . "
[END of 'THE START' : next - ' 1916 AND AFTER ' ].
NUTTY.......
[from ' The Sunday Press ' newspaper , 10th December , 1984]
....... Mr. George Marshall , Regional Director of BBC NORTHERN IRELAND (sic) in 1937 , said --
-- " There is no such thing today as an Irishman . One is either a citizen of the Irish Free State or a citizen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland . Irishmen as such cease to exist after the partition . "
By George , George ! What a wheeze of an idea - if you can't physically annihilate us , just will us out of existence ! Thats the mentality on which the sun never sets , eh , Mr. Marshall ....... ?
.......PROFESSOR ---->
[from ' The Evening Press ' newspaper , 12th February , 1987 - a Thursday , if memory serves - page 9]
<---- Writing in the (then) current issue of ' The Church of Ireland Gazette ' , Professor John A. Murphy of University College Cork stated that " peace - not unity " should be what he termed " the national goal . Unification is the enemy of peace ."
The nutty Professor stated that " A proper functioning Anglo-Irish Agreement (by which he meant the 1985 Hillsborough Treaty) should be proclaimed as the final settlement of the national question . "
Those opposed to the Hillsborough Treaty were " fanatics , demagogues and intimidators . "
1985 - Hillsborough Treaty - those opposed are " fanatics " ;
1998 - Stormont Treaty - those opposed are " dissidents " .
Professor John A. Murphy - whatever the year -- a Free Stater .......
Friday, December 12, 2003
SUNDAY , 26TH JULY , 1914 - ON THE DUBLIN QUAYS ; BRITISH SOLDIERS OPEN FIRE .......
.......a 'shouting-match' , a verbal disagreement , was underway between RIC Chief William Harrell and Irish Rebel leaders Thomas MacDonagh and Darrell Figgis ; the 'authority' of the Brits to demand that the Irish Volunteers hand over their weapons was in dispute - the armed Brits were watching developments with interest , as was a large crowd on the footpaths . The group of armed Irish Republicans , however , had their own plan .......
As the verbal disagreement continued , Republicans at the very back of the gathering simply walked away in the opposite direction with their weapons under their coat ! Other men in the Republican contingent handed their weapons to known members of the public who , again , walked off with the equipment under their coats .
Meanwhile , after about half-an-hour of trying to get the better of MacDonagh and Figgis , RIC Chief Harrell gave up and ordered his men , and the British military , to move-in and seize the guns -- they got 19 of the 1000 rifles , the rest having been spirited away ! The Brits were not amused , but the crowd that had gathered to watch the confrontation cheered , clapped and laughed at the RIC and the British KOSBIES , as the two forces formed-up for the march back into the city centre ....... (MORE LATER).
WHERE MOUNTAINY MEN HAVE SOWN :
war and peace in rebel Cork ,
in the turbulent years 1916-21.
By Micheal O'Suilleabhain : published 1965.
THE START.......
"....... 'Redmonds Volunteers' held an after-mass meeting to gain recruits ; one man , a local musician named Paddy , stepped forward to examine the pipes . Redmonds crew talked to the man , as he was their only prospect ......."
" Finally , the entire recruiting unit retired to the nearest pub , taking Paddy with them . Two of my comrades entered the pub to watch the proceedings . They returned with the news that Paddy had accepted the Saxon shilling . That was bad news . The four of us waited outside . Presently all appeared , with Paddy in their midst , playing the pipes .
A few pints of porter had dulled the voice of reason . The group repaired to the second pub in the village - more music and more porter . At length they all emerged . They were going back to their base ; two motor cars stood ready . Paddy still clutched the pipes , and made some attempt to play them . One of the group remarked - " Ah well , we had not a very profitable day , only one recruit ." The car doors were opened , and all seated themselves , except two - one held a door open while the other , the Sergeant , took Paddy's arm , saying : " Step in , Paddy . "
Never did I see such horror on a man's face as I did on Paddy's . We stood with our backs to the wall of the pub - Paddy's eyes turned and looked at us appealingly . He was now quite sober ; the shock had roused him to the danger of his position . I was the first to reach him . I grasped his arm and jerked him away from Redmonds men ........" (MORE LATER).
NOT A MAN TO BE 'suited'-up AND PLACED IN A BRITISH OR FREE STATE ADMINISTRATION : a synopsis of one Irish Rebel - AUSTIN STACK ---->
<---- Austin Stack was born in Tralee , County Kerry , in 1880 . In 1904 , he captained the Kerry team which won the All-Ireland Final , and for many years afterwards he held a post on the Kerry Board of the GAA .
Arrested with Con Collins on 21st April 1916 while planning an attack on Tralee RIC Barracks in an attempt to rescue Roger Casement . He was court-martialled and sentenced to death , but this was commuted to twenty years penal servitude . He was released in the general amnesty of June 1917 , and became active in the Irish Volunteers again .
He was elected Secretary of Sinn Fein , a position he held until his death . His health was shattered due to the number of prison-protests and hunger strikes for political status that he undertook . In the 1918 General Election , while a prisoner in Crumlin Road Jail in Belfast , he was elected to represent West Kerry in the First (all-Ireland) Dail .
The Brits sent him off to Strangeways Prison in Manchester , from where he escaped in October 1919 . During the 'Black and Tan War' , as Minister for Home Affairs , he organised the Republican Courts which replaced the British 'legal' system in this country . He rejected the Treaty of Surrender in 1921 and , following a short fund-raising/public relations tour of America , returned to Ireland to fight on the Republican side in the Civil War .
In the general round-up of Irish Republican leaders in April 1923 (during which Liam Lynch was shot dead by Free State troops) Stack , the Deputy Chief of Staff of the Rebel forces , was arrested in a farmyard in the Knockmealdown Mountains in County Tipperary . This was four days after Lynch's death . Imprisoned in Kilmainham Jail in Dublin , he took part in the mass hunger-strike by Republican prisoners in October 1923 , which was his 5th hunger-strike in 6 years .
Shortly after the end of that forty-one day hunger-strike , in November 1923 , he was released with hundreds of other political prisoners . He married Una Gordon in 1925 . In April 1929 , at forty-nine years of age , he entered the Mater Hospital in Dublin for a stomach operation . He never recovered and died two days later , on 27th April 1929 . He is buried in the Republican Plot , Glasnevin Cemetary , in Dublin .
A man of no compromise , because the issue is not one to be compromised over . Its graves like the one that Austin Stack is buried in that Adams and his crowd of outlaw pets are scurrying over to build their careers .
.......a 'shouting-match' , a verbal disagreement , was underway between RIC Chief William Harrell and Irish Rebel leaders Thomas MacDonagh and Darrell Figgis ; the 'authority' of the Brits to demand that the Irish Volunteers hand over their weapons was in dispute - the armed Brits were watching developments with interest , as was a large crowd on the footpaths . The group of armed Irish Republicans , however , had their own plan .......
As the verbal disagreement continued , Republicans at the very back of the gathering simply walked away in the opposite direction with their weapons under their coat ! Other men in the Republican contingent handed their weapons to known members of the public who , again , walked off with the equipment under their coats .
Meanwhile , after about half-an-hour of trying to get the better of MacDonagh and Figgis , RIC Chief Harrell gave up and ordered his men , and the British military , to move-in and seize the guns -- they got 19 of the 1000 rifles , the rest having been spirited away ! The Brits were not amused , but the crowd that had gathered to watch the confrontation cheered , clapped and laughed at the RIC and the British KOSBIES , as the two forces formed-up for the march back into the city centre ....... (MORE LATER).
WHERE MOUNTAINY MEN HAVE SOWN :
war and peace in rebel Cork ,
in the turbulent years 1916-21.
By Micheal O'Suilleabhain : published 1965.
THE START.......
"....... 'Redmonds Volunteers' held an after-mass meeting to gain recruits ; one man , a local musician named Paddy , stepped forward to examine the pipes . Redmonds crew talked to the man , as he was their only prospect ......."
" Finally , the entire recruiting unit retired to the nearest pub , taking Paddy with them . Two of my comrades entered the pub to watch the proceedings . They returned with the news that Paddy had accepted the Saxon shilling . That was bad news . The four of us waited outside . Presently all appeared , with Paddy in their midst , playing the pipes .
A few pints of porter had dulled the voice of reason . The group repaired to the second pub in the village - more music and more porter . At length they all emerged . They were going back to their base ; two motor cars stood ready . Paddy still clutched the pipes , and made some attempt to play them . One of the group remarked - " Ah well , we had not a very profitable day , only one recruit ." The car doors were opened , and all seated themselves , except two - one held a door open while the other , the Sergeant , took Paddy's arm , saying : " Step in , Paddy . "
Never did I see such horror on a man's face as I did on Paddy's . We stood with our backs to the wall of the pub - Paddy's eyes turned and looked at us appealingly . He was now quite sober ; the shock had roused him to the danger of his position . I was the first to reach him . I grasped his arm and jerked him away from Redmonds men ........" (MORE LATER).
NOT A MAN TO BE 'suited'-up AND PLACED IN A BRITISH OR FREE STATE ADMINISTRATION : a synopsis of one Irish Rebel - AUSTIN STACK ---->
<---- Austin Stack was born in Tralee , County Kerry , in 1880 . In 1904 , he captained the Kerry team which won the All-Ireland Final , and for many years afterwards he held a post on the Kerry Board of the GAA .
Arrested with Con Collins on 21st April 1916 while planning an attack on Tralee RIC Barracks in an attempt to rescue Roger Casement . He was court-martialled and sentenced to death , but this was commuted to twenty years penal servitude . He was released in the general amnesty of June 1917 , and became active in the Irish Volunteers again .
He was elected Secretary of Sinn Fein , a position he held until his death . His health was shattered due to the number of prison-protests and hunger strikes for political status that he undertook . In the 1918 General Election , while a prisoner in Crumlin Road Jail in Belfast , he was elected to represent West Kerry in the First (all-Ireland) Dail .
The Brits sent him off to Strangeways Prison in Manchester , from where he escaped in October 1919 . During the 'Black and Tan War' , as Minister for Home Affairs , he organised the Republican Courts which replaced the British 'legal' system in this country . He rejected the Treaty of Surrender in 1921 and , following a short fund-raising/public relations tour of America , returned to Ireland to fight on the Republican side in the Civil War .
In the general round-up of Irish Republican leaders in April 1923 (during which Liam Lynch was shot dead by Free State troops) Stack , the Deputy Chief of Staff of the Rebel forces , was arrested in a farmyard in the Knockmealdown Mountains in County Tipperary . This was four days after Lynch's death . Imprisoned in Kilmainham Jail in Dublin , he took part in the mass hunger-strike by Republican prisoners in October 1923 , which was his 5th hunger-strike in 6 years .
Shortly after the end of that forty-one day hunger-strike , in November 1923 , he was released with hundreds of other political prisoners . He married Una Gordon in 1925 . In April 1929 , at forty-nine years of age , he entered the Mater Hospital in Dublin for a stomach operation . He never recovered and died two days later , on 27th April 1929 . He is buried in the Republican Plot , Glasnevin Cemetary , in Dublin .
A man of no compromise , because the issue is not one to be compromised over . Its graves like the one that Austin Stack is buried in that Adams and his crowd of outlaw pets are scurrying over to build their careers .
" Take it down from the mast ......."
Thursday, December 11, 2003
SUNDAY , 26TH JULY , 1914 - ON THE DUBLIN QUAYS ; BRITISH SOLDIERS OPEN FIRE .......
.......on that Sunday afternoon , the Republicans were marching , from Howth , into Dublin City when their path was blocked by about one-hundred-and-fifty armed British troops and 'policemen' , under the Command of Assistant Commissioner William Harrell , who demanded that the Irish Rebels hand over their weapons .......
Two of the Rebel leaders , Thomas MacDonagh and Darrell Figgis , left the main body of armed Republicans and marched over to Harrell and told him it was their understanding that he (Harrell) had no legal authority to issue such a demand !
While RIC Chief Harrell issued chapter and verse of how , and from whom , he derived his 'authority' , the two Irish Republicans were quoting him chapter and verse of why it was that his 'authority' was not valid in Ireland ; Harrell's RIC colleagues were lined-up on the road about ten feet behind him and the British 'KOSBIES' were , in turn , lined-up behind the RIC men - both groups were concentrating on the verbal sparring-match between Harrell , MacDonagh and Figgis .
But the group of Irish Republicans , standing in military formation behind MacDonagh and Figgis , were not ....... (MORE LATER).
WHERE MOUNTAINY MEN HAVE SOWN :
war and peace in rebel Cork ,
in the turbulent years 1916-21.
By Micheal O'Suilleabhain : published 1965.
THE START.......
".......the 'National Volunteers' split ; the majority stayed with John Redmond and prepared themselves to fight with the British in the mistaken belief that , by so doing , they would achieve 'Home Rule' for Ireland . Those that left re-grouped as the 'Irish Volunteers ' , to be known later as the Irish Republican Army....... "
" Nothing daunted , this local prop of empire announced an after-mass recruiting meeting for a certain Sunday . A doctor from Macroom , a 'Clerk of the Crown and Peace' from Cork , a British Army Captain , a recruiting Sergeant , and a British Army piper awaited the people outside the Chapel gates .
The people stood around and waited while the piper played some warlike music . The visitors hoped that perhaps the Parish Priest , Father O'Donohue , might preside at the meeting . He came striding down to the gate , a tall imperious man . Two approached him just outside the gate , but he brushed them aside with a contemptuous gesture of his hand , and walked quickly home without looking back .
The local prop of empire introduced them himself . An audible silence persisted ,then up stood the 'Clerk of the Crown and Peace' and told of the atrocities of the Huns and introduced the British Army Captain who had slain legions of them . The Captain held up a captured German rifle for inspection . He told how the Germans came in waves , in masses . He and his comrades mowed them down but still they came .
When I was leaving , the Germans were coming stronger than ever . I thought it a very poor inducement to a prospective recruit !
Our Volunteer Company had gone to exercise near Macroom that day . With three other locals I had contrived to stay for the after-mass empire meeting . The meeting ended and nothing remained but to enrol the recruits : no-one stepped forward , but one man hung around the piper as if fascinated by the pipes . This young man was known as a splendid player of the flute , but had never handed the pipes .
The recruiting Sergeant approached and spoke to the young man whose name was Paddy......." (MORE LATER).
ONE EPISODE IN THE SECRET HISTORY OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH .......
[from ' The Evening Press ' newspaper , 8th February -- a Saturday , if memory serves -- 1986 , page 3]
....... A Jury in Abbeville , Louisiana , in the United States , yesterday (ie Friday , 7th February , 1986) awarded one million dollars in damages to an eleven-years young boy , who was molested by a priest , Father Gilbert Gauthe , now in jail for sexually abusing three dozen alter boys .
The boy's parents , Glenn and Faye Gastal , refused 'out of court' settlements and sought twelve million dollars in their lawsuit against the Catholic Church because , they said , it harboured the priest even after learning that he was a child molester . The predominantly Catholic jury also awarded the boy's parents 250,000 dollars .
The abuse started when the boy was seven-years young . Father Gilbert Gauthe was sentenced to twenty years in prison last October (ie 1985) after admitting he molested the children at Saint John Parish Church in the community of Esther . The Lafayette Diocese has settled lawsuits with thirteen families against Father Gilbert Gauthe for a reported five-and-a-half million dollars , with not one of those thirteen cases going to trial .
These are the same self-righteous hypocrites that , at the drop of a Bishop's hat , will , and have , condemned Irish men and women for challenging , and seeking to change , the political and social system in Ireland . A corrupt system which nurtures a corrupt Church .......
.......on that Sunday afternoon , the Republicans were marching , from Howth , into Dublin City when their path was blocked by about one-hundred-and-fifty armed British troops and 'policemen' , under the Command of Assistant Commissioner William Harrell , who demanded that the Irish Rebels hand over their weapons .......
Two of the Rebel leaders , Thomas MacDonagh and Darrell Figgis , left the main body of armed Republicans and marched over to Harrell and told him it was their understanding that he (Harrell) had no legal authority to issue such a demand !
While RIC Chief Harrell issued chapter and verse of how , and from whom , he derived his 'authority' , the two Irish Republicans were quoting him chapter and verse of why it was that his 'authority' was not valid in Ireland ; Harrell's RIC colleagues were lined-up on the road about ten feet behind him and the British 'KOSBIES' were , in turn , lined-up behind the RIC men - both groups were concentrating on the verbal sparring-match between Harrell , MacDonagh and Figgis .
But the group of Irish Republicans , standing in military formation behind MacDonagh and Figgis , were not ....... (MORE LATER).
WHERE MOUNTAINY MEN HAVE SOWN :
war and peace in rebel Cork ,
in the turbulent years 1916-21.
By Micheal O'Suilleabhain : published 1965.
THE START.......
".......the 'National Volunteers' split ; the majority stayed with John Redmond and prepared themselves to fight with the British in the mistaken belief that , by so doing , they would achieve 'Home Rule' for Ireland . Those that left re-grouped as the 'Irish Volunteers ' , to be known later as the Irish Republican Army....... "
" Nothing daunted , this local prop of empire announced an after-mass recruiting meeting for a certain Sunday . A doctor from Macroom , a 'Clerk of the Crown and Peace' from Cork , a British Army Captain , a recruiting Sergeant , and a British Army piper awaited the people outside the Chapel gates .
The people stood around and waited while the piper played some warlike music . The visitors hoped that perhaps the Parish Priest , Father O'Donohue , might preside at the meeting . He came striding down to the gate , a tall imperious man . Two approached him just outside the gate , but he brushed them aside with a contemptuous gesture of his hand , and walked quickly home without looking back .
The local prop of empire introduced them himself . An audible silence persisted ,then up stood the 'Clerk of the Crown and Peace' and told of the atrocities of the Huns and introduced the British Army Captain who had slain legions of them . The Captain held up a captured German rifle for inspection . He told how the Germans came in waves , in masses . He and his comrades mowed them down but still they came .
When I was leaving , the Germans were coming stronger than ever . I thought it a very poor inducement to a prospective recruit !
Our Volunteer Company had gone to exercise near Macroom that day . With three other locals I had contrived to stay for the after-mass empire meeting . The meeting ended and nothing remained but to enrol the recruits : no-one stepped forward , but one man hung around the piper as if fascinated by the pipes . This young man was known as a splendid player of the flute , but had never handed the pipes .
The recruiting Sergeant approached and spoke to the young man whose name was Paddy......." (MORE LATER).
ONE EPISODE IN THE SECRET HISTORY OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH .......
[from ' The Evening Press ' newspaper , 8th February -- a Saturday , if memory serves -- 1986 , page 3]
....... A Jury in Abbeville , Louisiana , in the United States , yesterday (ie Friday , 7th February , 1986) awarded one million dollars in damages to an eleven-years young boy , who was molested by a priest , Father Gilbert Gauthe , now in jail for sexually abusing three dozen alter boys .
The boy's parents , Glenn and Faye Gastal , refused 'out of court' settlements and sought twelve million dollars in their lawsuit against the Catholic Church because , they said , it harboured the priest even after learning that he was a child molester . The predominantly Catholic jury also awarded the boy's parents 250,000 dollars .
The abuse started when the boy was seven-years young . Father Gilbert Gauthe was sentenced to twenty years in prison last October (ie 1985) after admitting he molested the children at Saint John Parish Church in the community of Esther . The Lafayette Diocese has settled lawsuits with thirteen families against Father Gilbert Gauthe for a reported five-and-a-half million dollars , with not one of those thirteen cases going to trial .
These are the same self-righteous hypocrites that , at the drop of a Bishop's hat , will , and have , condemned Irish men and women for challenging , and seeking to change , the political and social system in Ireland . A corrupt system which nurtures a corrupt Church .......
Wednesday, December 10, 2003
SUNDAY , 26TH JULY , 1914 - ON THE DUBLIN QUAYS ; BRITISH SOLDIERS OPEN FIRE .
In the early afternoon of Sunday , 26th July , 1914 , a consignment of over one-thousand rifles and ammunition for same was landed at Howth harbour , in Dublin , and unloaded by the newly-formed ' Irish Volunteers ' , assisted by members of Na Fianna Eireann . On its way in to Dublin city , the Republican convoy was halted by a force of about fifty British RIC 'policemen' and over one-hundred British soldiers from the ' Kings Own Scottish Borderers ' , known as the ' Kosbies ' .
A large crowd of civilians gathered to watch the confrontation ; the Assistant British RIC Commissioner , William Harrell , approached the Republicans and demanded that their weapons be handed over ....... (MORE LATER).
WHERE MOUNTAINY MEN HAVE SOWN :
war and peace in rebel Cork ,
in the turbulent years 1916-21.
By Micheal O'Suilleabhain : published 1965.
THE START.......
"....... Unionist leader Edward Carson formed the ' Ulster Volunteers ' to fight against 'Home Rule' for Ireland ; the ' Irish Republican Brotherhood ' set up the 'National Volunteers ' in response . John Redmond , always looking to increase his career prospects , wanted on to the new body's Committee - he brought with him thousands of new members ....... "
" I have said that the National Volunteers , or ' Redmond's Volunteers ' , as they were called , became very strong numerically when the political party gained control . Age or youth were not considered in enlistment . I was myself a member at the age of thirteen . We looked an imposing body in the dusk of the evening when viewed from a considerable distance . My comrade-in-arms was a Mr. Twomey , a prosperous farmer of about sixty years . He showed his prosperity around his waist and should have started his military career as a general .
We drilled nearly every evening and had a sergeant-major of the Irish Guards regiment of the British Army as instructor . A splendid instructor he was , and if he had had the necessary material would quickly have made soldiers of us . He had my great sympathy . Thus we drilled and paraded for a time , about one-hundred strong ; then , one evening , twenty men - my uncle , brother and myself included , stood apart . We were the ' Irish Volunteers ' , later to become known as the Irish Republican Army .
The remainder continued to soldier on for some little time . One Sunday morning they paraded with their band . The local committee spokesman announced that their destination was a recruiting meeting in Macroom . The band struck up a martial air and moved off on hearing the command . The 'National Volunteers' did not stir . When they moved again it was to disperse and go home , never to assemble again . The big drummer of the band looked back , stopped , unbuckled his drum and let it roll down the hill . Excepting the local spokesman , no one went to the meeting . " (MORE LATER).
F G + L C D TV.......
[from ' New Hibernia ' magazine , April , 1986]
In 1986 , the late Jim Mitchell ( Fine Gael ) was the Free State Minister for Telecommunication ; Jim was educated in St. James's CBS School in Dublin , the Vocational School in Inchicore , the College of Commerce in Rathmines and Trinity College , Dublin .
He was a member of Dublin Corporation from 1974 - 1981 , during which time he was 'Lord Mayor' of Dublin from 1976 to 1977 . Before he became a professional suit , our Jem worked in the transport section of Guinness.
Anyhow , in 1986 the bould Jim lashed R T E , stating that their news and current affairs programmes were pre-occupied with " bad news and negative stories , natural and man-made disasters . I'm fed up with R T E accentuating the negative . " (This was during the 'reds under the beds' period , when the Blueshirts were convinced that everyone was out to get them).
So Fine Gael would prefer 'dumb-down', or LCD (Lowest Common Denominator) TV ; game-shows , cartoons , 'Barney' etc- keep the voters ignorant , stupid and ill-informed . That way (apparently by Fine Gael's logic) they'll keep voting for them . Not that you have to be ignorant , stupid and ill-informed to vote for Fine Gael .
But it obviously helps .......
In the early afternoon of Sunday , 26th July , 1914 , a consignment of over one-thousand rifles and ammunition for same was landed at Howth harbour , in Dublin , and unloaded by the newly-formed ' Irish Volunteers ' , assisted by members of Na Fianna Eireann . On its way in to Dublin city , the Republican convoy was halted by a force of about fifty British RIC 'policemen' and over one-hundred British soldiers from the ' Kings Own Scottish Borderers ' , known as the ' Kosbies ' .
A large crowd of civilians gathered to watch the confrontation ; the Assistant British RIC Commissioner , William Harrell , approached the Republicans and demanded that their weapons be handed over ....... (MORE LATER).
WHERE MOUNTAINY MEN HAVE SOWN :
war and peace in rebel Cork ,
in the turbulent years 1916-21.
By Micheal O'Suilleabhain : published 1965.
THE START.......
"....... Unionist leader Edward Carson formed the ' Ulster Volunteers ' to fight against 'Home Rule' for Ireland ; the ' Irish Republican Brotherhood ' set up the 'National Volunteers ' in response . John Redmond , always looking to increase his career prospects , wanted on to the new body's Committee - he brought with him thousands of new members ....... "
" I have said that the National Volunteers , or ' Redmond's Volunteers ' , as they were called , became very strong numerically when the political party gained control . Age or youth were not considered in enlistment . I was myself a member at the age of thirteen . We looked an imposing body in the dusk of the evening when viewed from a considerable distance . My comrade-in-arms was a Mr. Twomey , a prosperous farmer of about sixty years . He showed his prosperity around his waist and should have started his military career as a general .
We drilled nearly every evening and had a sergeant-major of the Irish Guards regiment of the British Army as instructor . A splendid instructor he was , and if he had had the necessary material would quickly have made soldiers of us . He had my great sympathy . Thus we drilled and paraded for a time , about one-hundred strong ; then , one evening , twenty men - my uncle , brother and myself included , stood apart . We were the ' Irish Volunteers ' , later to become known as the Irish Republican Army .
The remainder continued to soldier on for some little time . One Sunday morning they paraded with their band . The local committee spokesman announced that their destination was a recruiting meeting in Macroom . The band struck up a martial air and moved off on hearing the command . The 'National Volunteers' did not stir . When they moved again it was to disperse and go home , never to assemble again . The big drummer of the band looked back , stopped , unbuckled his drum and let it roll down the hill . Excepting the local spokesman , no one went to the meeting . " (MORE LATER).
F G + L C D TV.......
[from ' New Hibernia ' magazine , April , 1986]
In 1986 , the late Jim Mitchell ( Fine Gael ) was the Free State Minister for Telecommunication ; Jim was educated in St. James's CBS School in Dublin , the Vocational School in Inchicore , the College of Commerce in Rathmines and Trinity College , Dublin .
He was a member of Dublin Corporation from 1974 - 1981 , during which time he was 'Lord Mayor' of Dublin from 1976 to 1977 . Before he became a professional suit , our Jem worked in the transport section of Guinness.
Anyhow , in 1986 the bould Jim lashed R T E , stating that their news and current affairs programmes were pre-occupied with " bad news and negative stories , natural and man-made disasters . I'm fed up with R T E accentuating the negative . " (This was during the 'reds under the beds' period , when the Blueshirts were convinced that everyone was out to get them).
So Fine Gael would prefer 'dumb-down', or LCD (Lowest Common Denominator) TV ; game-shows , cartoons , 'Barney' etc- keep the voters ignorant , stupid and ill-informed . That way (apparently by Fine Gael's logic) they'll keep voting for them . Not that you have to be ignorant , stupid and ill-informed to vote for Fine Gael .
But it obviously helps .......
Tuesday, December 09, 2003
1971 PRISON BREAK ; ' KANGAROO'S ' in the Six Counties ....... !
.......less than three weeks after the nine I R A men escaped from Crumlin Road Jail in Belfast , three other I R A prisoners used much the same method and also successfully escaped from the same prison ! A song in commemoration of the two jail-breaks was penned .......
Now the governor came down with his face in a twist
and said " Line up those lads while I check out me list , "
but nine of the lads did'nt answer at all
and the warder said " Please Sir, they're over the wall ."
The security forces were shook to the core
so they barred every window and bolted each door ,
but all their precautions were no use at all
for another three prisoners jumped over the wall !
Then the news reached old Stormont , Brian Faulkner turned pale
when he heard that more men had escaped from his jail ,
said he- " Now we'll have an enquiry to call , and we'll get Edmund Compton to whitewash the wall ."
( Brian Faulkner was , at the time , the British 'Home Affairs Minister' for the Six Counties , and Edmund Compton was the Brit 'suit' put in charge of telling the media that "torture would never happen in a British jail .")
[END].
WHERE MOUNTAINY MEN HAVE SOWN :
war and peace in rebel Cork ,
in the turbulent years 1916-21.
By Micheal O'Suilleabhain : published 1965.
THE START .......
".......some of the Irish people were fooled by their politicians into believing that " the floor of the house " is the only place to secure Irish independence - ' Home Rule ' for fighting with the Brits was on offer ......."
" Carson's threat to resist ' Home Rule ' with his 'Ulster Volunteers' gave Irishmen the opportunity of forming 'The National Volunteers' , ostensibly to oppose Carson . In reality , 'The National Volunteers' were established by the Irish Republican Brotherhood who saw the opportunity for arming and drilling a body of men to fight for the complete independence of Ireland .
As this body grew in strength , John Redmond , Leader of the Irish Party in Westminster , demanded representation on its committee . This was granted to him and the numerical strength of 'The National Volunteers' increased tenfold . On the outbreak of the 'world war' in the beginning of August 1914 , John Redmond offered them body and soul to Britain .
Moreover , he started a recruiting campaign throughout the country and , aided by the daily press , and his own party organisation , together with lying propaganda , soon reaped a red harvest . Thousands volunteered , and , as was always the case , many found graves in the front-line of Britain's battlefields . Poor lads , they thought they were dying for Ireland . " (MORE LATER).
DELIVER US.......
[from ' In Dublin ' magazine , 15th May , 1986 , page 32]
A Padre Mauro , an Italian Franciscan priest in Nicaragua , stated --
-- " The (Catholic) Church delivered the poor as obedient servants to their rulers . The Church had the moral authority that the poor would not dare question . The Church should beg the forgiveness of the poor , throughout the world , for what they allowed to happen to them . If the Church is not with the poor now they will be pushed aside . "
Ireland or Nicaragua - the Church , as an institution , in order to preserve its own power , will take the side of the State . They are no better than the politicians they cosy up to , and deserve the same contempt .
.......FROM EVIL ---->
[from ' New Hibernia ' magazine , June , 1986 , page 15]
<---- Between the 15th and 18th Centurys , the Catholic Church was burning , torturing and hanging men , women and children for " associating with the devil . " A pamphlet was issued by the Holy Sea , called ' Malleus Maleficorum ' (' Hammer of Witches ') which was used as a 'guide' by the Catholic Church in the most appropriate manner to use to dispatch a 'witch' !
A heartless way to integrate yourself with the establishment - prey on the superstitions of the upper class and butcher the poor " for their own salvation . "
15th , 18th or 21st Century -- Ireland , England or Nicaragua ; its still wrong .
.......less than three weeks after the nine I R A men escaped from Crumlin Road Jail in Belfast , three other I R A prisoners used much the same method and also successfully escaped from the same prison ! A song in commemoration of the two jail-breaks was penned .......
OVER THE WALL.......
Now the governor came down with his face in a twist
and said " Line up those lads while I check out me list , "
but nine of the lads did'nt answer at all
and the warder said " Please Sir, they're over the wall ."
The security forces were shook to the core
so they barred every window and bolted each door ,
but all their precautions were no use at all
for another three prisoners jumped over the wall !
Then the news reached old Stormont , Brian Faulkner turned pale
when he heard that more men had escaped from his jail ,
said he- " Now we'll have an enquiry to call , and we'll get Edmund Compton to whitewash the wall ."
( Brian Faulkner was , at the time , the British 'Home Affairs Minister' for the Six Counties , and Edmund Compton was the Brit 'suit' put in charge of telling the media that "torture would never happen in a British jail .")
[END].
WHERE MOUNTAINY MEN HAVE SOWN :
war and peace in rebel Cork ,
in the turbulent years 1916-21.
By Micheal O'Suilleabhain : published 1965.
THE START .......
".......some of the Irish people were fooled by their politicians into believing that " the floor of the house " is the only place to secure Irish independence - ' Home Rule ' for fighting with the Brits was on offer ......."
" Carson's threat to resist ' Home Rule ' with his 'Ulster Volunteers' gave Irishmen the opportunity of forming 'The National Volunteers' , ostensibly to oppose Carson . In reality , 'The National Volunteers' were established by the Irish Republican Brotherhood who saw the opportunity for arming and drilling a body of men to fight for the complete independence of Ireland .
As this body grew in strength , John Redmond , Leader of the Irish Party in Westminster , demanded representation on its committee . This was granted to him and the numerical strength of 'The National Volunteers' increased tenfold . On the outbreak of the 'world war' in the beginning of August 1914 , John Redmond offered them body and soul to Britain .
Moreover , he started a recruiting campaign throughout the country and , aided by the daily press , and his own party organisation , together with lying propaganda , soon reaped a red harvest . Thousands volunteered , and , as was always the case , many found graves in the front-line of Britain's battlefields . Poor lads , they thought they were dying for Ireland . " (MORE LATER).
DELIVER US.......
[from ' In Dublin ' magazine , 15th May , 1986 , page 32]
A Padre Mauro , an Italian Franciscan priest in Nicaragua , stated --
-- " The (Catholic) Church delivered the poor as obedient servants to their rulers . The Church had the moral authority that the poor would not dare question . The Church should beg the forgiveness of the poor , throughout the world , for what they allowed to happen to them . If the Church is not with the poor now they will be pushed aside . "
Ireland or Nicaragua - the Church , as an institution , in order to preserve its own power , will take the side of the State . They are no better than the politicians they cosy up to , and deserve the same contempt .
.......FROM EVIL ---->
[from ' New Hibernia ' magazine , June , 1986 , page 15]
<---- Between the 15th and 18th Centurys , the Catholic Church was burning , torturing and hanging men , women and children for " associating with the devil . " A pamphlet was issued by the Holy Sea , called ' Malleus Maleficorum ' (' Hammer of Witches ') which was used as a 'guide' by the Catholic Church in the most appropriate manner to use to dispatch a 'witch' !
A heartless way to integrate yourself with the establishment - prey on the superstitions of the upper class and butcher the poor " for their own salvation . "
15th , 18th or 21st Century -- Ireland , England or Nicaragua ; its still wrong .
Monday, December 08, 2003
1971 PRISON BREAK ; ' KANGAROO'S ' in the Six Counties ....... !
....... 16th November , 1971 - the nine Irish Republican prisoners escaped from Crumlin Road Jail in Belfast ; two of them were captured by the Brits in County Tyrone , but the other seven could not be found . A press-conference was organised for Dublin.......
The seven men exposed the torture they received from the British and the conditions that their captors held them in . Within about only two weeks of what became known as the escape of ' The Crumlin Kangaroo's ' , it happened again !
On 2nd December , 1971 , three I R A men in (the same) Crumlin Road Jail -- Martin Meehan , 'Dutch' Doherty and Hugh McCann -- tied some bed-sheets together , fashioned a 'hook' for the top sheet and successfully escaped from the prison ! As is usual in these events , it was'nt long before a song commemorating the escapes was penned ---
---
In Crumlin Road Jail all the prisoners one day
took out a football and started to play ,
And while all the warders were watching the ball
nine of the prisoners jumped over the wall !
Over the wall , over the wall ,
Who would believe they jumped over the wall ?
Over the wall , over the wall ,
It's hard to believe they jumped over the wall !
Now the warders looked on with the greatest surprise
and the sight that they saw brought tears to their eyes ,
For one of the teams was not there at all
they all got transferred and jumped over the wall !
(MORE[final three verses]LATER).
WHERE MOUNTAINY MEN HAVE SOWN :
war and peace in rebel Cork ,
in the turbulent years 1916-21.
By Micheal O'Suilleabhain : published 1965.
THE START.......
"....... my father would talk about his friends , all Irish Republicans - Father O'Growney , Padraig Pearse , 'Rooney' , William Bulfin ; all proud men , determined to remove the British ....... "
" Here and now I must say that every effort should be made from school , platform , and pulpit , to point out to young men the immorality and disgrace of fighting in foreign armies . I think the name 'the fighting Irish' is the greatest insult ever offered to our race .
It implies that we fight just for the fun of it . Alas for the poor lads who died in the Tugela Valley fighting against the Boers , against Zulus and other weak people . If only they had fought for those oppressed peoples - " their graves we would keep where the Fenians sleep . "
And that brings me to the greatest slaughter of our young men in the service of Britain , during the world war of 1914 - 1918 . The politicians , whom my uncle used to describe so aptly , were the cause of the slaughter . These traffickers in blood who maintained that " the floor of the House " was the place to win Irish independence [personal note - sound familiar ?] shamelessly sent the youth of Ireland to the shambles .
The unfortunate people had been bewildered for a long time previously . A 'Home Rule Bill' was dangled before them as " independence " ......." (MORE LATER).
SINGING.......
[from ' AP/RN , ' 4th June , 1992 , page 6]
....... The 'Nationalist' politicians who participated in the Stormont 'Parliament' were only able to steer through one single piece of legislation between 1921 and 1972 ; ' The Wild Bird Act 1931 ' !
Was it anything to do with the Ostrich ? Burying your head in the sand and all that .......
.......FOR YOUR SUPPER ---->
[from ' The Evening Press ' newspaper , 2nd May -- a Wednesday , I believe -- 1984]
<---- British journalists attending the 'Eurovision Song Contest' in Luxembourg were annoyed at their "low standard hotel" , so they done what they always do - dump on the Irish !
The Brit scribblers contacted the management of the near-by 'Holiday Inn' hotel , where the Irish delegation were staying , and told the hotel bosses that the Irish were " a security risk " and suggested to the hotel'suits' that the 'Paddies' be evicted !
However , the management at the 'Holiday Inn' told the Brits that they were "talking rubbish" and that they had no problem with the Irish and did not view them as " a security risk ."
Typical Brit arrogance . Well they better get over it - they're gonna lose more than a song-contest .......
....... 16th November , 1971 - the nine Irish Republican prisoners escaped from Crumlin Road Jail in Belfast ; two of them were captured by the Brits in County Tyrone , but the other seven could not be found . A press-conference was organised for Dublin.......
The seven men exposed the torture they received from the British and the conditions that their captors held them in . Within about only two weeks of what became known as the escape of ' The Crumlin Kangaroo's ' , it happened again !
On 2nd December , 1971 , three I R A men in (the same) Crumlin Road Jail -- Martin Meehan , 'Dutch' Doherty and Hugh McCann -- tied some bed-sheets together , fashioned a 'hook' for the top sheet and successfully escaped from the prison ! As is usual in these events , it was'nt long before a song commemorating the escapes was penned ---
---
OVER THE WALL
In Crumlin Road Jail all the prisoners one day
took out a football and started to play ,
And while all the warders were watching the ball
nine of the prisoners jumped over the wall !
Over the wall , over the wall ,
Who would believe they jumped over the wall ?
Over the wall , over the wall ,
It's hard to believe they jumped over the wall !
Now the warders looked on with the greatest surprise
and the sight that they saw brought tears to their eyes ,
For one of the teams was not there at all
they all got transferred and jumped over the wall !
(MORE[final three verses]LATER).
WHERE MOUNTAINY MEN HAVE SOWN :
war and peace in rebel Cork ,
in the turbulent years 1916-21.
By Micheal O'Suilleabhain : published 1965.
THE START.......
"....... my father would talk about his friends , all Irish Republicans - Father O'Growney , Padraig Pearse , 'Rooney' , William Bulfin ; all proud men , determined to remove the British ....... "
" Here and now I must say that every effort should be made from school , platform , and pulpit , to point out to young men the immorality and disgrace of fighting in foreign armies . I think the name 'the fighting Irish' is the greatest insult ever offered to our race .
It implies that we fight just for the fun of it . Alas for the poor lads who died in the Tugela Valley fighting against the Boers , against Zulus and other weak people . If only they had fought for those oppressed peoples - " their graves we would keep where the Fenians sleep . "
And that brings me to the greatest slaughter of our young men in the service of Britain , during the world war of 1914 - 1918 . The politicians , whom my uncle used to describe so aptly , were the cause of the slaughter . These traffickers in blood who maintained that " the floor of the House " was the place to win Irish independence [personal note - sound familiar ?] shamelessly sent the youth of Ireland to the shambles .
The unfortunate people had been bewildered for a long time previously . A 'Home Rule Bill' was dangled before them as " independence " ......." (MORE LATER).
SINGING.......
[from ' AP/RN , ' 4th June , 1992 , page 6]
....... The 'Nationalist' politicians who participated in the Stormont 'Parliament' were only able to steer through one single piece of legislation between 1921 and 1972 ; ' The Wild Bird Act 1931 ' !
Was it anything to do with the Ostrich ? Burying your head in the sand and all that .......
.......FOR YOUR SUPPER ---->
[from ' The Evening Press ' newspaper , 2nd May -- a Wednesday , I believe -- 1984]
<---- British journalists attending the 'Eurovision Song Contest' in Luxembourg were annoyed at their "low standard hotel" , so they done what they always do - dump on the Irish !
The Brit scribblers contacted the management of the near-by 'Holiday Inn' hotel , where the Irish delegation were staying , and told the hotel bosses that the Irish were " a security risk " and suggested to the hotel'suits' that the 'Paddies' be evicted !
However , the management at the 'Holiday Inn' told the Brits that they were "talking rubbish" and that they had no problem with the Irish and did not view them as " a security risk ."
Typical Brit arrogance . Well they better get over it - they're gonna lose more than a song-contest .......
Sunday, December 07, 2003
1971 PRISON BREAK ; ' KANGAROO'S ' in the Six Counties ....... !
.......a second attempt to escape from Crumlin Road Jail in Belfast was set to take place on 16th November 1971 - nine Irish Republican internees were picked , and arrangements were put in place by the then IRA for the speedy transport of the men across the border .......
On that date - 16th November 1971 - a football match was organised , as usual , and the prison-screws were happy enough to have something going-on to distract them from their miserable jobs ; not to be distracted , however , were the nine men -- as the football match was underway , an I R A unit had parked a couple of cars on the Antrim Road and were already inside the barbed-wire perimeter fence , having cut through same .
Rope-ladders were unfurled and thrown over the prison-wall . The nine men climbed up the ladders and down the other side , got into the waiting cars and drove off at high speed towards the border . In County Tyrone , near Omagh , two of the escaped prisoners - Chris Keenan and David Mullan - were caught by the Brits , but there was no sign of the other seven men . It later transpired that they had sought and received sanctuary in a Cistercian Monastery near the border .
The escape made international headlines , and the British Government were further embarrassed when the seven escapees held a press conference in Dublin ....... (MORE LATER).
WHERE MOUNTAINY MEN HAVE SOWN :
war and peace in rebel Cork ,
in the turbulent years 1916-21.
By Micheal O'Suilleabhain : published 1965.
THE START.......
".......before radio and television , our people traded stories and songs around the fire , and played bowling or football ; the neighbours would meet in one house of a night , and another house the next night ....... "
" In the harvest ,at the threshing dance each night , a haggard was threshed . Never did I attend one of these functions where songs alternated with dances without hearing a national song expressing the peoples' hope that one day they would see Ireland free . My father , a member of the Gaelic League , always attended the Oireachtas . He knew Father O'Growney and Padraig Pearse .
He and my mother went out on a tender from Cobh to meet O'Growney's funeral from Los Angeles in 1903 . Both O'Growney and Rooney worked like Pearse , but death intervened . They had worn themselves out early in life working almost alone at the stupendous task of regenerating the soul of Ireland . With a few others , they must be regarded as the apostles of both the separatist movement and the language revival .
Another man who died before his time was William Bulfin , but he knew our day was not far off . His one book , ' Rambles in Eireann ,' helped a great deal to teach self-respect to Irishmen and may profitably be read in these times , when we hear of Irishmen fighting as mercenaries . " (MORE LATER)>
GROUNDHOG.......
[from ' The Evening Press ' , 9th March -- a Friday , if memory serves -- 1984]
Young Fine Gael said they knew what was wrong with their party -- " a lack of a unifying political philosophy or sense of direction . "
That was in 1984 - almost twenty years ago . YESSIR , big changes since then .......
.......DAY ---->
<---- " Day after day , week after week , month after month , the Nation that gave Magna Carta , Habeas Corpus and Due Process to the world imprisons hundreds of innocent citizens of Northern Ireland (sic) without warrant , charge or trial , often on the evidence of the rankest hearsay and deception .
We read the reports of torture with horror as they describe the efforts of British intelligence to learn the secrets of the I R A by methods no civilised people can countenance . "
--- American Senator Edward Kennedy .
.......but no changes here .
.......a second attempt to escape from Crumlin Road Jail in Belfast was set to take place on 16th November 1971 - nine Irish Republican internees were picked , and arrangements were put in place by the then IRA for the speedy transport of the men across the border .......
On that date - 16th November 1971 - a football match was organised , as usual , and the prison-screws were happy enough to have something going-on to distract them from their miserable jobs ; not to be distracted , however , were the nine men -- as the football match was underway , an I R A unit had parked a couple of cars on the Antrim Road and were already inside the barbed-wire perimeter fence , having cut through same .
Rope-ladders were unfurled and thrown over the prison-wall . The nine men climbed up the ladders and down the other side , got into the waiting cars and drove off at high speed towards the border . In County Tyrone , near Omagh , two of the escaped prisoners - Chris Keenan and David Mullan - were caught by the Brits , but there was no sign of the other seven men . It later transpired that they had sought and received sanctuary in a Cistercian Monastery near the border .
The escape made international headlines , and the British Government were further embarrassed when the seven escapees held a press conference in Dublin ....... (MORE LATER).
WHERE MOUNTAINY MEN HAVE SOWN :
war and peace in rebel Cork ,
in the turbulent years 1916-21.
By Micheal O'Suilleabhain : published 1965.
THE START.......
".......before radio and television , our people traded stories and songs around the fire , and played bowling or football ; the neighbours would meet in one house of a night , and another house the next night ....... "
" In the harvest ,at the threshing dance each night , a haggard was threshed . Never did I attend one of these functions where songs alternated with dances without hearing a national song expressing the peoples' hope that one day they would see Ireland free . My father , a member of the Gaelic League , always attended the Oireachtas . He knew Father O'Growney and Padraig Pearse .
He and my mother went out on a tender from Cobh to meet O'Growney's funeral from Los Angeles in 1903 . Both O'Growney and Rooney worked like Pearse , but death intervened . They had worn themselves out early in life working almost alone at the stupendous task of regenerating the soul of Ireland . With a few others , they must be regarded as the apostles of both the separatist movement and the language revival .
Another man who died before his time was William Bulfin , but he knew our day was not far off . His one book , ' Rambles in Eireann ,' helped a great deal to teach self-respect to Irishmen and may profitably be read in these times , when we hear of Irishmen fighting as mercenaries . " (MORE LATER)>
GROUNDHOG.......
[from ' The Evening Press ' , 9th March -- a Friday , if memory serves -- 1984]
Young Fine Gael said they knew what was wrong with their party -- " a lack of a unifying political philosophy or sense of direction . "
That was in 1984 - almost twenty years ago . YESSIR , big changes since then .......
.......DAY ---->
<---- " Day after day , week after week , month after month , the Nation that gave Magna Carta , Habeas Corpus and Due Process to the world imprisons hundreds of innocent citizens of Northern Ireland (sic) without warrant , charge or trial , often on the evidence of the rankest hearsay and deception .
We read the reports of torture with horror as they describe the efforts of British intelligence to learn the secrets of the I R A by methods no civilised people can countenance . "
--- American Senator Edward Kennedy .
.......but no changes here .
Saturday, December 06, 2003
1971 PRISON BREAK ; ' KANGAROO'S ' in the Six Counties ....... !
.......the five internees made it to the top of the prison wall , but were spotted by members of a British Army patrol , who were in that same area because of a nail-bomb explosion on the Antrim Road . The five men climbed back down into the prison yard and mingled with the other prisoners . The idea itself was sound , and the then I R A set about repeating the exercise , this time with rope-ladders .......
It was agreed that the escape attempt would take place on 16th November 1971 , and that nine prisoners would locate themselves at a certain section of the prison wall , on that date , at a specific time . The nine men -- Seamus Storey , Thomas Maguire , Thomas Fox , Peter Hennessy , Bernard Ellison , Thomas Kane , Terence Clarke , Chris Keenan and David Mullan -- were all anxious to escape .
The barbed-wire fence on the outside of the prison wall would be cut to allow the men a quick exit , and cars would be waiting for them ....... (MORE LATER).
WHERE MOUNTAINY MEN HAVE SOWN :
war and peace in rebel Cork ,
in the turbulent years 1916-21.
By Micheal O'Suilleabhain : published 1965.
THE START.......
" .......the Boer War set an example to men like my uncle - he cursed when he heard the politicians speak about " Home Rule " or " Westminster " -- " stinking politicians " , he shouted ....... "
" Too young to have been a Fenian , my uncle's brother , Mike , spent eleven months in Limerick Jail for 'illegal' drilling , in an effort to carry on the Fenian organisation . ( My uncle Dan , Dan Harrington , and the " Farmer " are one and the same person throughout this story ).
Around the fire we learned the history of our own and other countries . That was before the kitchens of Ireland became afflicted with the television and the radio . Then would we hear an honest man's opinion or his hearty laugh , or listen to the stories handed down to him from his forefathers , and told in the same way around the unquenchable fire . The stories around the fire were not always told in prose .
Any influx of the neighbours brought some one or more able to sing . Thus did we hear every national song or ballad worth singing . At that time people of each small district met often and worked and played together . On a Sunday there was the Patron in the summer , or a bowling match or football game . During the long nights , the scoruiacht where all the neighbours met at one house until about ten o'clock . " (MORE LATER).
WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION.......
[from ' The Evening Press ' , 6th January , 1987 -- a Tuesday , if memory serves -- page 4]
During 'World War Two' , British scientists devised a bomb to disperse deadly anthrax spores in Germany , and the United States built a secret plant to make the weapons , claimed a Professor Barton J. Bernstein , in the current edition of the 'Bulletin of the Atomic Scientist' .
Lord Cherwell , Britains Chief Scientific Adviser , was said to have informed British Prime Minister Winston Churchill , in February 1944 , that - " Any animal breathing in minute quantities of these spores is extremely likely to die suddenly but peacefully within the week ."
Cherwell estimated that about six Lancaster bombers could carry enough bombs to destroy life in a mile-square area . Five-thousand of the bombs were delivered to Britain by May 1944 , from the American plant . They were never used , said Professor Bernstein , because - " Hitler had barred the development of it " by the German scientists .
The Brits probably dumped them in the Irish Sea , along with all the other radioactive trash which they dispose of in the border of water between our countries .
.......the five internees made it to the top of the prison wall , but were spotted by members of a British Army patrol , who were in that same area because of a nail-bomb explosion on the Antrim Road . The five men climbed back down into the prison yard and mingled with the other prisoners . The idea itself was sound , and the then I R A set about repeating the exercise , this time with rope-ladders .......
It was agreed that the escape attempt would take place on 16th November 1971 , and that nine prisoners would locate themselves at a certain section of the prison wall , on that date , at a specific time . The nine men -- Seamus Storey , Thomas Maguire , Thomas Fox , Peter Hennessy , Bernard Ellison , Thomas Kane , Terence Clarke , Chris Keenan and David Mullan -- were all anxious to escape .
The barbed-wire fence on the outside of the prison wall would be cut to allow the men a quick exit , and cars would be waiting for them ....... (MORE LATER).
WHERE MOUNTAINY MEN HAVE SOWN :
war and peace in rebel Cork ,
in the turbulent years 1916-21.
By Micheal O'Suilleabhain : published 1965.
THE START.......
" .......the Boer War set an example to men like my uncle - he cursed when he heard the politicians speak about " Home Rule " or " Westminster " -- " stinking politicians " , he shouted ....... "
" Too young to have been a Fenian , my uncle's brother , Mike , spent eleven months in Limerick Jail for 'illegal' drilling , in an effort to carry on the Fenian organisation . ( My uncle Dan , Dan Harrington , and the " Farmer " are one and the same person throughout this story ).
Around the fire we learned the history of our own and other countries . That was before the kitchens of Ireland became afflicted with the television and the radio . Then would we hear an honest man's opinion or his hearty laugh , or listen to the stories handed down to him from his forefathers , and told in the same way around the unquenchable fire . The stories around the fire were not always told in prose .
Any influx of the neighbours brought some one or more able to sing . Thus did we hear every national song or ballad worth singing . At that time people of each small district met often and worked and played together . On a Sunday there was the Patron in the summer , or a bowling match or football game . During the long nights , the scoruiacht where all the neighbours met at one house until about ten o'clock . " (MORE LATER).
WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION.......
[from ' The Evening Press ' , 6th January , 1987 -- a Tuesday , if memory serves -- page 4]
During 'World War Two' , British scientists devised a bomb to disperse deadly anthrax spores in Germany , and the United States built a secret plant to make the weapons , claimed a Professor Barton J. Bernstein , in the current edition of the 'Bulletin of the Atomic Scientist' .
Lord Cherwell , Britains Chief Scientific Adviser , was said to have informed British Prime Minister Winston Churchill , in February 1944 , that - " Any animal breathing in minute quantities of these spores is extremely likely to die suddenly but peacefully within the week ."
Cherwell estimated that about six Lancaster bombers could carry enough bombs to destroy life in a mile-square area . Five-thousand of the bombs were delivered to Britain by May 1944 , from the American plant . They were never used , said Professor Bernstein , because - " Hitler had barred the development of it " by the German scientists .
The Brits probably dumped them in the Irish Sea , along with all the other radioactive trash which they dispose of in the border of water between our countries .
Friday, December 05, 2003
1971 PRISON BREAK ; ' KANGAROO'S ' in the Six Counties ....... !
....... September , 1971 - a football match between the internees was underway in Crumlin Road Jail in Belfast . Five of the men decided to put themselves 'off-side' and had a rope ( knotted bed-sheets) and , tied to the top of the 'rope' , a 'hook' ( table-end) to grip the top of the wall .......
As the five men climbed up the 'rope' as best they could , a nail-bomb exploded on the Antrim Road , which was the far-side of the wall ; the men continued their climb and , on reaching the top of the prison wall , they were startled to find themselves looking down on armed British soldiers --- the Brits were probably just as surprised to be looking up at them !
The nail-bomb explosion had drawn a British Army patrol to that same spot - the men on top of the wall went into reverse , climbed back down the way they had come up and mingled with their fellow-prisoners , watching the match . That was September 1971 ; the failed escape bid at least indicated that the idea was sound . It was decided to continue with the football matches , but not to attempt an escape during same -- for now.
Over the following few weeks , arrangements were made with the then I R A on the outside for another escape attempt , using an improved version of the September idea ; rope ladders ....... (MORE LATER).
WHERE MOUNTAINY MEN HAVE SOWN :
war and peace in rebel Cork ,
in the turbulent years 1916-21.
By Micheal O'Suilleabhain : published 1965.
THE START.......
".......as young children , we would question our parents when they discussed the issues of the day -- the Boer War and its leaders were talked about in our house ....... "
" Then did we really enjoy the story of the successful fight of the weak against the strong . The stories about the Boer War never grew old in my youth . Any dog worthy of the name was called Kruger , pronounced ' Kroojer ' . Jerry Kelleher , Ballyvoig , was the only exception . In order to be contrary , he had a dog named Balfour .
When the crows at his heels , while Jerry scattered grain in the tillage , got too numerous and clamorous , Jerry would say to the dog - " Disperse those meetings , Mr. Balfour . " Balfour always obliged . The stories of , and the discussions on , the Boer War never ended without a reference to Ireland . Small wonder . The handful of farmers who stood up against an empire and humiliated it set an example for the oppressed and down-trodden of the world .
The example was not lost on the militant-minded in our own country . My uncle was one of these and it was from him I first heard of the only sure way to shake off the foreign oppressor . For years before I heard of Sinn Fein I heard its gospel from him , but above all I learned that the only way to freedom was the direct way . When Home Rule or Westminster or Irish Party or a " great speech " was mentioned , he sat up and shouted - " Hah ! Stinking politicians . " (MORE LATER).
A MOTHER'S LOVE .......
[from ' The Evening Press ' newspaper , 16th July -- a Monday , I'm sure -- 1984 ]
Mrs. Doreen McAleese , mother to a British soldier , Neil , went to the British Army Barracks at Hohne , near Hanover, looking for the inmates therein to assist her in clearing her son's name -- naughty Neil (20) was in jail in Germany waiting to be court-martialled for offences relating to drug use .
Mrs. McAleese took statements from fifty soldiers , and apparently entered same as evidence in her son's case hoping , no doubt , to prove that her Neil was of good character (or at least of the same character as that of his colleagues) ---
--- 17 of the 50 , including Officers , confirmed to the woman that they used drugs " regularly " ;
of the remaining 33 Brit soldiers , those belonging to the Parachute Regiment (number not given) actually boasted to Mrs. McAleese that they " took heroin almost daily " ;
and the remainder , considered by fellow-Brits to be 'Malvinas / Falkland War Hero's' , were themselves awaiting court-martial for ....... drug offences !
After reading the above information into the court records , Mrs. McAleese told a (stunned ?) court -- " There is pressure on young soldiers to try drugs to show they are men . " (Mental Picture - " I say , Smithers , what's that in your arm ? " That's a syringe , SIR ! . " " Jolly good , Private - carry on . ")
Don't know how young Neil got on , but I'm sure his mother is still in hiding ; just hope its not in the Six Counties -- the Brit soldiers there are mad !
....... September , 1971 - a football match between the internees was underway in Crumlin Road Jail in Belfast . Five of the men decided to put themselves 'off-side' and had a rope ( knotted bed-sheets) and , tied to the top of the 'rope' , a 'hook' ( table-end) to grip the top of the wall .......
As the five men climbed up the 'rope' as best they could , a nail-bomb exploded on the Antrim Road , which was the far-side of the wall ; the men continued their climb and , on reaching the top of the prison wall , they were startled to find themselves looking down on armed British soldiers --- the Brits were probably just as surprised to be looking up at them !
The nail-bomb explosion had drawn a British Army patrol to that same spot - the men on top of the wall went into reverse , climbed back down the way they had come up and mingled with their fellow-prisoners , watching the match . That was September 1971 ; the failed escape bid at least indicated that the idea was sound . It was decided to continue with the football matches , but not to attempt an escape during same -- for now.
Over the following few weeks , arrangements were made with the then I R A on the outside for another escape attempt , using an improved version of the September idea ; rope ladders ....... (MORE LATER).
WHERE MOUNTAINY MEN HAVE SOWN :
war and peace in rebel Cork ,
in the turbulent years 1916-21.
By Micheal O'Suilleabhain : published 1965.
THE START.......
".......as young children , we would question our parents when they discussed the issues of the day -- the Boer War and its leaders were talked about in our house ....... "
" Then did we really enjoy the story of the successful fight of the weak against the strong . The stories about the Boer War never grew old in my youth . Any dog worthy of the name was called Kruger , pronounced ' Kroojer ' . Jerry Kelleher , Ballyvoig , was the only exception . In order to be contrary , he had a dog named Balfour .
When the crows at his heels , while Jerry scattered grain in the tillage , got too numerous and clamorous , Jerry would say to the dog - " Disperse those meetings , Mr. Balfour . " Balfour always obliged . The stories of , and the discussions on , the Boer War never ended without a reference to Ireland . Small wonder . The handful of farmers who stood up against an empire and humiliated it set an example for the oppressed and down-trodden of the world .
The example was not lost on the militant-minded in our own country . My uncle was one of these and it was from him I first heard of the only sure way to shake off the foreign oppressor . For years before I heard of Sinn Fein I heard its gospel from him , but above all I learned that the only way to freedom was the direct way . When Home Rule or Westminster or Irish Party or a " great speech " was mentioned , he sat up and shouted - " Hah ! Stinking politicians . " (MORE LATER).
A MOTHER'S LOVE .......
[from ' The Evening Press ' newspaper , 16th July -- a Monday , I'm sure -- 1984 ]
Mrs. Doreen McAleese , mother to a British soldier , Neil , went to the British Army Barracks at Hohne , near Hanover, looking for the inmates therein to assist her in clearing her son's name -- naughty Neil (20) was in jail in Germany waiting to be court-martialled for offences relating to drug use .
Mrs. McAleese took statements from fifty soldiers , and apparently entered same as evidence in her son's case hoping , no doubt , to prove that her Neil was of good character (or at least of the same character as that of his colleagues) ---
--- 17 of the 50 , including Officers , confirmed to the woman that they used drugs " regularly " ;
of the remaining 33 Brit soldiers , those belonging to the Parachute Regiment (number not given) actually boasted to Mrs. McAleese that they " took heroin almost daily " ;
and the remainder , considered by fellow-Brits to be 'Malvinas / Falkland War Hero's' , were themselves awaiting court-martial for ....... drug offences !
After reading the above information into the court records , Mrs. McAleese told a (stunned ?) court -- " There is pressure on young soldiers to try drugs to show they are men . " (Mental Picture - " I say , Smithers , what's that in your arm ? " That's a syringe , SIR ! . " " Jolly good , Private - carry on . ")
Don't know how young Neil got on , but I'm sure his mother is still in hiding ; just hope its not in the Six Counties -- the Brit soldiers there are mad !
Thursday, December 04, 2003
1971 PRISON BREAK ; ' KANGAROO'S ' in the Six Counties ....... !
....... 9th August , 1971 - the Brits 'round-up' one-thousand-five-hundred Irishmen and intern them in three different prisons -- Long Kesh (300) , 'The Maidstone' (150) and Crumlin Road Jail.......
An estimated one-thousand internee's ( and remand prisoners) were held in Crumlin Road Jail , in Belfast , resulting in serious over-crowding ; so the 'prisoners' set-about giving themselves more space !
During a prison football match in September that year (1971) , five internees made their way to a section of the wall at the opposite end of where the match was being played -- they carried bed-sheets knotted together , with a wooden 'hook' (made from prison tables and/or chairs) tied to one end of the 'rope' .
With the football game in full swing , and the prison-screws relieved to have something to watch and help them pass a few hours , the five men succeeded in their efforts to have the 'hook' grip the top of the wall ....... (MORE LATER).
WHERE MOUNTAINY MEN HAVE SOWN :
war and peace in rebel Cork ,
in the turbulent years 1916-21.
By Micheal O'Suilleabhain : published 1965.
THE START .
" I was born in 1902 , the year the Boer War ended . It was the first war I heard discussed when I began to understand things a little . Indeed , when I push my memory back as far as possible , I always reach the one definite point . I can see my uncle , Dan Harrington , in front of the fire , Tom Connor on his right , my father on his left .
My mother generally moving about , for ever busy , like all good mothers . At length the men would prevail on her to sit down -- " Yerra , Mini , sit down , the world will be after us , " Tom would say . Then would we all , my brothers and sisters , listen entranced to good stories . I heard for the first time the names of famous Boer leaders -- Kruger , Cronje , De Wett , De La Rey and others , and of Mauser , Maxim , Pom-Pom and Long Tom .
Persistent enquiries from the younger generation were made until we had a fair grasp of the meaning of all these people and things ......." (MORE LATER).
AND EVEN MORE REAGANISMS .......
When Ronnie was transformed into President Reagan , he was briefed by Bobby Inman , the then Deputy Director of the C I A .
On the topic of Soviet nuclear strength , Mr. President asked " was the SS-19 their biggest missile ? " Not so , replied Deputy Inman - " That would be the SS-18 ." " So , , said Ronnie , " they've even switched the numbers on their missiles to confuse us ! "
Inman explained that the numbers are assigned to the missiles by U S Intelligence , not by the Soviets .......
In running for Office in 1980 , Ronald Reagan announced that his team had identified " forty-one specific items costing eleven billion dollars " which he would cut . The media contacted his Office , looking for details on the " forty-one items " -- no-one knew anything about it ; it later transpired that there was no such list of items .......
The bould Ronnie claimed that it cost the health bureaucracy " three dollars to deliver one dollar of health service . " His Office later admitted that he was wrong - it only cost twelve cents to deliver said amount of health service !
.....not the full shilling ...
....... 9th August , 1971 - the Brits 'round-up' one-thousand-five-hundred Irishmen and intern them in three different prisons -- Long Kesh (300) , 'The Maidstone' (150) and Crumlin Road Jail.......
An estimated one-thousand internee's ( and remand prisoners) were held in Crumlin Road Jail , in Belfast , resulting in serious over-crowding ; so the 'prisoners' set-about giving themselves more space !
During a prison football match in September that year (1971) , five internees made their way to a section of the wall at the opposite end of where the match was being played -- they carried bed-sheets knotted together , with a wooden 'hook' (made from prison tables and/or chairs) tied to one end of the 'rope' .
With the football game in full swing , and the prison-screws relieved to have something to watch and help them pass a few hours , the five men succeeded in their efforts to have the 'hook' grip the top of the wall ....... (MORE LATER).
WHERE MOUNTAINY MEN HAVE SOWN :
war and peace in rebel Cork ,
in the turbulent years 1916-21.
By Micheal O'Suilleabhain : published 1965.
THE START .
" I was born in 1902 , the year the Boer War ended . It was the first war I heard discussed when I began to understand things a little . Indeed , when I push my memory back as far as possible , I always reach the one definite point . I can see my uncle , Dan Harrington , in front of the fire , Tom Connor on his right , my father on his left .
My mother generally moving about , for ever busy , like all good mothers . At length the men would prevail on her to sit down -- " Yerra , Mini , sit down , the world will be after us , " Tom would say . Then would we all , my brothers and sisters , listen entranced to good stories . I heard for the first time the names of famous Boer leaders -- Kruger , Cronje , De Wett , De La Rey and others , and of Mauser , Maxim , Pom-Pom and Long Tom .
Persistent enquiries from the younger generation were made until we had a fair grasp of the meaning of all these people and things ......." (MORE LATER).
AND EVEN MORE REAGANISMS .......
When Ronnie was transformed into President Reagan , he was briefed by Bobby Inman , the then Deputy Director of the C I A .
On the topic of Soviet nuclear strength , Mr. President asked " was the SS-19 their biggest missile ? " Not so , replied Deputy Inman - " That would be the SS-18 ." " So , , said Ronnie , " they've even switched the numbers on their missiles to confuse us ! "
Inman explained that the numbers are assigned to the missiles by U S Intelligence , not by the Soviets .......
In running for Office in 1980 , Ronald Reagan announced that his team had identified " forty-one specific items costing eleven billion dollars " which he would cut . The media contacted his Office , looking for details on the " forty-one items " -- no-one knew anything about it ; it later transpired that there was no such list of items .......
The bould Ronnie claimed that it cost the health bureaucracy " three dollars to deliver one dollar of health service . " His Office later admitted that he was wrong - it only cost twelve cents to deliver said amount of health service !
.....not the full shilling ...
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